Cobalt, and Other Shades of Blue
by panclarks
Summary: "You never really stopped loving her did you?" Toph asked, her feet planted on the ground, seeking the truth from her old friend. Zuko looked down at his boots, letting out a breath that he did not realize he was holding. "Not for a second." Zutara.
1. Cobalt

**My take on a Zutara fic. Yes, this is finally happening. I was 12 when A:TLA first came out, I'm 21 now, and I think somehow I've always wanted to write a Zutara fic but never had the guts to. **

**Avatar: The Last Airbender and the Legend of Korra are not mine, nor are the characters. I wish they were but heh they're not and I guess I will just have to live with that *crey***

...basically I'm just going along with how I think the story would have panned out if Zuko and Katara really did have feelings for each other (WHICH I'M SURE THEY DO BECAUSE THEY ARE CANNON IN MY HEART OK *DIES FROM FEELS*), but at the same time not disregarding how the details in LoK are turning out

any other questions will be answered later on in the fic, but if you're still dead curious feel free to drop me a line too!

**So anyway, enough chit-chat. I hope you all enjoy this! Reviews would be lovely so I know if I write like shit huhu**

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><p><strong>The Present<strong>

"Your highness," the clerk at the tea shop slowly bowed before the elderly firebender. The few people inside who were enjoying their tea stopped their mild chatter to look, and on one of the rounded stone tables, a little girl with bright, blue eyes began tugging at her father's sleeve; she stared at the other customers of the tea shop, confused, holding on her right hand a small rag doll that had blue button eyes that were akin to hers.

Before any of the tea-goers could say anything, Zuko pulled off his scarlet-colored hood and gave his little audience a small smile, the scar on his face evident and almost beaming. He pressed his forefinger lightly against his lips, winking at the tea-goers. "I'm afraid I'm just an ordinary citizen today," he chuckled, although they were still dazed, staring. How often do former Fire Lords come into small, shabby teashops anyway?

"Who's he, daddy?" The little girl who held the doll furrowed her eyebrows in question and tugged on her father's sleeve further. "His face is funny!"

At this, her father's eyes widened, and began hushing his daughter: "Now, now, Toma. It's very impolite to say things like that, especially to the Fire Lord Honora's father," He said, a slight hint of panic and embarrassment in his voice.

Zuko, who was surveying the scene carefully, quickly gestured for the tea shop clerk who was still bowing before him to rise, and left two silver pieces on the counter. Before the clerk could protest, Zuko raised his hand and smiled, ordered himself a pot of jasmine tea, and walked towards the girl.

"Forgive my daughter, your highness," the father bowed lower than the tea clerk did. He sported a slightly tattered blue robe, bandages surrounding both his arms. Zuko would have known travelling Water Tribe citizens anywhere, but since the erection of Republic City, the new world faced an age of complete globalization—Fire Nation citizens strolling around the city, and even the South Pole wouldn't be a surprise to most people, and the same could be said about travelling Water Tribe folk.

Toma, the girl who wore robes (which were a little loose, as well) that were as a deep cobalt blue as her eyes, was still confused, but took a quick glance at her father who gestured for her to bow as well. Before she could obey, Zuko stopped her.

"You must be Toma, I suppose," he said, and felt a slight pang in his chest at the mention of the little girl's name. He ignored this and crouched down so that his head was level with hers. "What a beautiful name. Do you know what it means?"

"Sun," Toma began, still clutching the sleeve of her father's robe. "It means Sun," she continued. Zuko briefly closed his eyes, ignoring any flashbacks that might have come at the mention the word. Pushing his thoughts away, he gestured for the father to rise and smiled again at Toma, who was now cowering. "Are you mad?" she asked. "I'm sorry I called your face funny!"

"Well it is, isn't it?" Zuko said, his hand touching the bad side of his face, feigning amusement. "It is a bit funny wouldn't you say? I think your doll would agree."

The little girl Toma began to giggle, and held her doll's head in a way that it looked like it was nodding along. Zuko felt his old heart beat against his chest, but for the third time upon meeting Toma and her father, ignored it.

"Lord Zuko, I—" the father began, but Zuko waved his hand to gesture that it was nothing. "It's quite all right. I admire your little girl's—" he trailed off, "—bravery. And her honesty." The father smiled but before he could apologize any further, Zuko quietly whispered to him: "You and your daughter's tea is on the old Fire Lord." He winked and walked away without looking back. Toma and his father smiled at him.

"I like that old man, daddy," she whispered. "He's very nice like you!"

"Yes," the father agreed. "The Fire Lord is very kind," he said, and after sipping their remaining tea, slowly walked away.

As soon as the rest of the tea-goers had finally settled and began chatting among themselves again, Zuko took a seat of his own, waving away the lingering melancholy in his head.

"Toma," he smiled to himself, but it was a sad smile.

As the clerk arrived to serve the tea, Zuko asked for another cup. "Someone will be joining me today," he beamed, and the clerk could not help but bow again as he disappeared behind the curtain that lead to the kitchen.

Just then, the shop's door opened with a loud bang, and the hair at the back of Zuko's neck stood as he looked up from his tea to face the person who had just come in. Old as she was, she strode across the shop, alarming the tea goers, and each time one of her feet met the ground, loud thumps made the walls of the little shop vibrate.

"You just had to make me wait over 75 years for a field trip of our own," the old lady chuckled, bending the stone seat to her preference so that it suited her height (or lack thereof,) better.

"It's good to see you again, Toph." Zuko greeted. Whatever he had felt upon meeting Toma had been replaced with an air of nostalgia, and he stood from his place to lock the elderly Toph in a tight embrace. "It's been too long. We have much to talk about."

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><p><strong>*EDIT: thought it would be important to note that on this chapter, I drew inspiration from a few zutara fics I've read before (specifically old Zuko having tea somewhere in the Fire Nation). Some of the fics I drew inspiration from, I have to admit, I vaguely remember (I readskim too much zutara ugh), so if you find a one or two paragraphs similar to a story of yours, please accept my apologies! I might have skimmed your fic a while back and have forgotten its title. You can also opt to PM me, and I will put credit where it is needed, if it is needed. The plot however, of this _fic in its entirety, i_s mine.**


	2. Cyan

"So, Fire Lord Hotpants," Toph began, picking on one of her ears and flicking the dirt from it towards another table, landing inside the cup of another old man. He looked down at his tea in absolute horror. Zuko furrowed his eyebrows in both surprise and disapproval, but Toph only laughed and waved her hand away. "What?" She asked, gesturing at Zuko's reaction. "You think I can't see that look on your face? I bet his tea tastes better now anyway!"

He couldn't help but let out a short chuckle. "You haven't changed."

"Wish I could say the same for you. My feet sense that you're all wrinkly now," Toph said, still picking on her ear.

"Well, look who's talking," Zuko laughed, taking a sip of his tea.

"Oh, I still have my mojo," replied Toph, and without much difficulty began pouring some tea for herself. "Okay, Fire Lord Hot Pants," she continued, taking a sip. "You call me out here to the Fire Nation all the way from Republic City for what?"

Zuko took out a wooden box that was small enough to keep inside of his robes. Settling it on the table, he opened it slowly as if it were the most delicate thing in the world, and showed its contents to Toph, who was staring at it blankly.

"Okay. So. What am I looking at?" She said, and Zuko's eyes widened, completely forgetting that Toph couldn't see. He took her hand and put it over the content of the wooden box—whatever was in it was enough to make Toph's breath hitch, and her mouth fell slightly open.

"You made this?" She asked, the tips of her fingers delicately going over the details of the betrothal necklace that was before her. "For her?"

"Who else?" Zuko sighed. "I was pondering over whether I should have had the collar woven in red, but I'd thought she would like a more traditional, Water Tribe color—"

"I'm sorry, Fire Lord Hotpants, but… will she even accept this? Honestly speaking? Will her _children_ even accept this?"

"I don't see a reason why I shouldn't give it a shot," Zuko replied, now feeling more determined than ever. He took the necklace from its container and surveyed the details of his carving. Waves of water were depicted swallowing a small flame that looked similar to the Fire Nation insignia, describing the woman that was constantly in his thoughts perfectly.

"You never really stopped loving her did you?" Toph asked, her feet planted on the ground, seeking the truth from her old friend.

Zuko looked down at his boots, letting out a breath that he did not realize he was holding. "Not for a second."

**Post-War: The Past**

Zuko was dreaming a very good dream, one about long, warm fingers caressing his chest softly. He could feel cool hands easing up onto his torso carefully, and a soft humming was escaping from someone's lips, someone he knew. The song was not at all familiar, but as it rang through his ears he felt like home.

He blinked his eyes open, and was met with blue.

"Hey there, sleepyhead." Katara giggled, concentrating on her work. She bent the water across the scarred flesh on Zuko's chest, carefully weaving the water onto it. Two days ago the flesh had been completely charred, an ugly scarlet protruding from the web of lightning that Azula had inflicted upon Zuko, who was now wincing.

"Hey, it's alright," hushing him, Katara tried her best to heal the rest of the wound that formed pinkish webs around Zuko's torso. The deeper the healing properties of the water seeped into his skin, the more it stung. It was no ordinary wound, no ordinary scar. Zuko closed his eyes tightly until the cooling effect of the water settled on his chest, and as he opened his eyes, Katara gave him a warm smile, one of her hands on his hair, fingers caressing him.

"There you go. I got you." She said, smiling, and the cerulean glow from the water faded. She bended the liquid back into the basin and dried her hands, commanding the little droplets of water back into its container.

"How long was I out?" Zuko asked, his voice raspy, trying to sit up. When she saw that he could not, Katara raised an eyebrow and pushed him with a little force back on the bed.

"Ow! What was that for?"

Katara didn't answer, and let out another giggle instead. "A couple of hours. You've kind of been err, out a lot the past few days." She began playing with the ends of her own hair as she talked. " Suki and I tried feeding you a while ago but you were too stubborn and kept groaning all over the place."

"I don't remember," he said, and tried to adjust himself on the bed a little. Katara laughed, standing up to put away the basin, placing it near the corner of the room. "You said that earlier, too."

"And the coronation? Did they postpone it a second time?" he asked, and Katara strode along the carpeted floor of his room, sitting next to him on the bed again. "They have to. Your health is important," she said sternly. "Besides, we can't have you crawling in pain toward the Fire Sages when they crown you Fire Lord." Katara laughed, and Zuko chuckled along with her. A comfortable silence filled the room after their soft laughter died down, and for a minute all that could be heard were the firefly-crickets from outside the window.

"Katara?"

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say thank you… again." He breathed, staring at the ceiling. "I mean, you don't have to do this, you know. This whole healing stuff. How long have you been here, anyway?"

"Two days. The tissue isn't healing properly, Zuko. I'm practically the only one who can fix this. I mean, sure, Aang can bend water pretty well, but he's never tried healing anyone before. Suki wanted to help but apart from the bandages, there wasn't anything she else could do. And all Sokka's been doing is stealing all the food you don't eat and—"

"I'm sure you must be tired," Zuko cut her off. "You really don't have to do this. The Fire Sages will probably know what to do."

"Don't be silly." Katara rolled her eyes. "Fire doesn't heal as well as water does. I doubt it heals at all, even. No offense, though." She cocked an eyebrow. "And besides. You're my friend. And this is what friends do. They help each other out."

Zuko couldn't help but smile at the words she'd just said. A few years back, he would never have caught himself dead in the same room casually chatting with this waterbender after a deadly Agni Kai. And now here they were, doing just that. And they were friends.

"…And they help each other out especially when that certain friend essentially saved my life," Katara continued softly, as if to herself, but Zuko had heard. Unconsciously, Katara's fingers laced in between his, and she gripped them so tightly, she was afraid to let go. A single tear dropped from her cheek, flashbacks emerging at the back of her mind.

The Agni Kai. Flames of scarlet and a bright cyan. And then blue—a bright flash of blue bolting towards her; Zuko sprawled on the ground, flinching, and then nothing. The space and the distance between them as she chained his sister to the ground, not knowing if he was alright or not. And those few minutes that ticked by where she thought he was gone, that we was so far gone…

Pretending she was scratching her eye, Katara wiped away her tears with her other hand. She cleared her throat. "Are you good for dinner?"

Snapping out of their little spell, Zuko quickly let go of her hand. "Yeah," he nodded, his voice still raspy. "I'm good for dinner."

Katara smiled. "All right. Wait here." As if nothing happened, she skipped across the room and out the door, leaving Zuko alone on the bed, thinking of how warm he had felt inside when she was sitting next to him, when she held his hand.

"Don't be stupid," he whispered to himself, ignoring the quick beating of his heart against his chest. "You're friends. Just friends," he chanted this to himself until he completely forgot about Katara fetching him dinner, and fell asleep yet again. His dreams were all of crystal pools of blue.

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><p><strong>Reviews are like candy and are much appreciated! *throws hearts at all of yous*<strong>


	3. Interlude: Gold

**EDIT: Yes, I named her Honora. This fic was written before Bryke announced that Zuko's daughter's name was Izumi, so yes, I am well aware what her actual name is, so don't fret! I'll leave an explanation in the later chapters regarding my choice to keep her name the way it is.**

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><p><strong>The Present<strong>

Zuko frowned, blinking his eyes open, and they were met with gold, very much unlike the usual blue of his dreams. He smiled.

"Good morning, dad," Honora greeted, pouring her father a cup of tea that was settled on the mahogany side-table. She sat by Zuko on the bed, and he quickly straightened himself up, agile for his old age. He gently took the cup from Honora and closed his eyes, sipping, before greeting her with a "Good morning, sweetheart," back.

"You know," she trailed off. "When Grandfather Iroh was still alive and had to babysit me when you were out for Fire Lord duties, he would always tell me how much you didn't care for tea when you were younger." Zuko's daughter giggled, poured herself a cup as well, and jokingly rolled her eyes. "Now look at you! You're just like him."

"My younger self would be just as surprised," Zuko smiled, looking out the window a moment before turning towards his daughter again.

As she had now succeeded as the new Fire Lord, keeping peace and balance (and of course, signing paperwork) to and for the world was a daily routine, and although it was grinding, it started as soon as she awoke- tea with her father usually consisted of "I can't believe the Earth Queen had _this_ bill passed!" or "Dad, we have dinner tonight with the Chief Water Tribe's wife. Should the scarlet robes do, or the _deep_ scarlet ones? Iroh isn't being of much help right now-"

"I take it you didn't just decide to bring your old father some tea simply because you felt like it," Zuko said, raising an eyebrow casually.

But Honora was serious as she cleared her throat. "I talked to Toph before she left yesterday," she said.

_Of course,_ Zuko thought as he pinched the bridge of his nose and let out breath.

A tense silence lingered across Zuko's bedroom, but his daughter had broken it before her father could say anything else in protest: "Dad, I'm really happy for you. Really, I am. But—"

Zuko sighed, slouching, his eyes still closed. For a second time, he looked out the window, and after a while, faced the wall adjacent to the bed. "You don't think she'll say yes."

"It's not that, dad—"

"Then what, Honora?"

Honora slouched, already feeling defeated. She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it and sealed her lips shut, looking at her father with sad eyes.

Zuko's mood had turned from contentment to frustrated in a matter of seconds. "She doesn't say yes, and your old father won't be able to handle it?"

Honora fell silent and still, looking her father in the eye, gold against gold. She held his wrinkled hand tightly and tucked her graying hair behind her ear. "I'm just worried, dad. I'm worried about you. You haven't stopped thinking about this since… well, since mom died, and—"

"I am not sixteen any more, Honora." Zuko sighed. "I am eighty-seven years old and I think puberty has died down enough for me to handle a little… a little rejection."

The golden glow of his daughter's eyes faded, and she looked down on the floor. "That's just it, dad," she said. "I know how much she means to you. How she _always_ has," her voice trailed off, thinking about the nights when her father and mother were both younger, and _silent_, always silent with each other after Honora had turned sixteen; they were silent on the dinner table, and they were silent during grand banquets. They were silent in family vacations, and silent in royal affairs. They had both given their daughter the right amount of attention and care that she needed even after she had come of age, but Honora had always admitted to herself that it wasn't enough. She closed her eyes.

"I just think that you could do without everything being so grand. You could do- you and her _both_ could do- without official union. I would take you to the South Pole myself, even, dad. I would. You can be with her and I can stay here. But I don't know what I'll do with myself if you fall ill, if you couldn't handle it, and what if—"

"You couldn't possibly know how much she means to me, Honora."

At his words, Honora stood from the bed, her knuckles suddenly turning red. If she had been born a firebender, she would have burst terrible, fiery flames out of her hands.

"I couldn't possibly _know_?" she repeated, droplets of tears now forming behind her golden spectacles. "I couldn't possibly know what, dad? How much you love Katara? How much mom cried almost every night hoping you would just speak to her again, and how much it hurt her _and _me?"

Zuko closed his eyes, exhaling. "As I love you and Iroh, Honora, I loved your mother. I loved Mai very much."

Honora ignored him. "Then why did you just stop talking to her all those years ago, dad? You used to be okay! _We_ used to be okay!" Tears were now spilling from both sides of her cheeks, which burned a bright red. Zuko noticed how Honora's current stature looked like the daring teenager his daughter once was—this scene was almost the same compared to when she would bring home a boy that Zuko did not like, but this time, her daughter was no longer sixteen. "And now what, dad? Now you wanna try and be young again, risking your health, your well-being, everything—you're not even _fit_ enough to travel all the way to the South Pole from the _Fire Nation_—"

But before he could answer back, a loud knock surfaced.

"What's going on in there?" the voice asked, alarmed and alert from the other side of the door.

Before either of them could answer, it swung open, and a young man in a deep, red general's uniform stood and quickly surveyed the scene, his eyes darting to the two people in the room.

"Mom?" The younger Iroh, Zuko's grandson, called. The rubber soles of his boots collided hard with the floor as he walked briskly to his mother, whose face was covered with her palms. He locked her in a tight embrace, rubbing her back.

Honora sniffed. "It's nothing, son," she said, although Iroh could feel in his gut that she was lying. But Honora repeated the words again, trying to reassure him. "It's nothing."

"Is everything _really_ okay? The servants heard shouting and—" Iroh said, but his mother cut him off.

"There is much work to be done after breakfast," Honora said, and stole a quick, sad glance at Zuko, who glanced back at his daughter—their stares lingered, again gold against gold. While bringing up the subject of her mother had made Honora seem like she was in her younger days again, as soon as she turned her back, her straightened posture and poise reminded Zuko once more of exactly who her daughter now was. She was the Fire Lord.

"Enjoy your tea, father." She whispered. And leaving her son and Zuko alone in the room, she disappeared outside the door, into the hallway, and out of sight.

"Is everything okay?" Iroh repeated, looking at his grandfather worriedly.

Zuko gave him a small smile. "Oh, your mother was just—" Zuko thought before finishing the sentence, "—throwing a little… tantrum, of sorts. Sometimes I forget that she's not a teenager anymore."

"She's half a century old, grandfather." Iroh chuckled at the thought. "But you're right. Sometimes she doesn't act like it," he said, remembering all the times his mother would come to him with the dilemma of choosing capes in different shades of red.

"I really do hope everything's okay," Iroh continued, a sad smile on his lips. "I'll leave you now," he said, and bowed before Zuko before gently closing the door behind him.

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><p><strong>Reviews = candy<strong>


	4. Sapphire

**From here on out (except for a few "interludes", which will be very few, I promise) the setting of this story will be post-war, so we'll get ourselves more Zutara fluff and, hopefully (it depends on my mood really) some future lemons! CAN I GET A WOOT**

**Anyway, I got a bunch of feels from writing this chapter, and I hope you do too. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>The Past: Post War<strong>

"Please?" Katara nudged Zuko, shoving the cup of tea to the better side of his face. "Come on! It'll help!" she egged on, trying to follow Uncle Iroh's advice: "Tea will be of great aid to my nephew's recovery. It will help him relax."

Zuko and Katara were both seated on the soft, cool grass under an elder tree and next to the pond in the palace garden, with Zuko completely ignoring Katara's feigned pleas. She shoved the cup to the other side of his face, and Zuko rolled his eyes.

"I don't feel like it right now," he said, sounding like a ghost, and without looking at Katara, began breaking the bread that was in his hands into pieces, feeding the crumbs to the baby turtle ducks. Katara carefully placed the cup of tea on the tray that was settled on the grass, along with its pot. He was avoiding eye contact with her, and it didn't have to take a truth-seer like Toph to notice that something was wrong. She bent her head low so that her eyes faced his, but his golden orbs would not meet her sapphire ones.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked, pouting her lip. Zuko stole a glance at her eyes and immediately felt himself blush, his ears turning a bright shade of pink.

"Nothing's wrong," Zuko lied. "I just don't feel like tea right now," he repeated, trying to sound a little more convincing.

Katara sighed, moving her face away from his. She took the bread in Zuko's hand and started feeding the turtle ducks as well. As the crumbs fell into the water, she could see that one of the baby ducks found a piece bigger than the rest, and began quacking in joy.

"I really like them, these turtle ducks," Katara said, putting the bread aside and casually tucking her chin beneath her knees, which she held tightly. She observed the largest one, the mother duck, and how it made sure that all her little children had enough of the crumbs to eat.

"Give her a piece," Zuko said, who was unconsciously watching Katara as she observed the mother duck. "I'm sure she's hungry, too."

"I'll try. Why won't she eat?"

"She's trying to make sure her children have enough first," replied Zuko, and upon seeing that the little ones have had enough, tried giving the mother duck a fairly larger piece, slowly nearing his hand carefully towards its beak.

"_Ow!"_

The piece of bread fell into the surface of the pond, and the baby ducks quickly devoured it. Katara erupted in laughter, watching as Zuko shook his hand against the air in pain.

"Well, someone's hungry!" she said to the mother duck, which quacked in response, almost in agreement. Grabbing the piece of the bread from Zuko's better hand, Katara broke a much larger piece, and fed the mother duck successfully.

"Here," she turned towards Zuko. "Let me see your hand,"

Zuko did as he was told, and put the hand that was just bitten in Katara's. It was a bright shade of crimson, too crimson, but Zuko had had far worse injuries than a turtle duck bite; and so instead of wincing, he sighed.

"Those ducks never liked me," he said, annoyed.

"You've fed them before?" Katara asked, still observing his hand. She quickly dipped two of her fingers in the pond and began to bend a portion of the water, bringing it up to where the turtle duck had bitten Zuko.

"Yes," he replied, answering Katara's question. "My mother and I… we used to do this all the time. I've been doing it alone since."

A cerulean glow began to emerge from the wound as Katara healed it carefully. Zuko watched her, his eyes wandering on her long, slender fingers as the bluish glow surrounded his pale hand. The light faded almost as soon as it appeared.

"Any news on that?" Katara asked, sounding serious.

"No," said Zuko frustratingly, looking away. "My father never answers any of my questions."

Katara wanted to take this as a cue to drop the topic, but egged him on further. "Is that why you're upset, then?" She asked.

"No," Zuko answered honestly. "It's not."

"So something else is wrong, then." Katara looked into his eyes, but they were empty.

Sighing, Zuko put his hands behind his head and started to position his back on the cool grass, lying down. He had to at least tell _someone_, he decided.

"Mai and I—we broke up," he said sadly. As soon as the words escaped from his mouth, he wondered why he had confessed so easily and without much effort. Maybe deep inside, he really wanted to talk about it.

"_Or maybe it's because I'm talking to Katara_", Zuko pondered for a second, but quickly shook off the thought.

He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. Katara followed suit and started to lie down on the grass next to him, but with just the right amount of distance. She put her hands on top of her stomach, and looked at Zuko, who now appeared to be feigning sleep, his eyes closed.

"I heard," Katara confessed, recalling how she and Ty Lee had a short talk in the ladies' room in the palace before she had left for Kiyoshi Island. "You want to talk about it?" Katara asked.

Zuko pondered again for a bit. "_No, I don't." _he thought, thinking about how he and Mai had broken up. All of the shouting rang against his ears as he re-lived that exact moment, and he remembered _everything_—the blaming and the arguing, knowing at the back of his mind that neither of them would win. The screaming, and her cold stares as she looked down on him while he tried to ask forgiveness. _"No, I don't."_ Zuko thought again, sternly.

But he had opened his eyes to Katara, who now appeared to have her own closed. Zuko quickly stopped thinking and looked at her deep, chestnut brown hair flowing from her back and onto the grass, her chest slowly moving up and down against her breathing. He looked at her more carefully, her lips a bit pouted from thinking, or meditating, their natural shade of tan complementing her skin. And suddenly Zuko wanted nothing more than to let it out, let everything out to Katara. How unfair he'd thought Mai had been, who hadn't even considered hearing him out. How cold she was when she completely ignored him after they first saw each other again in the city after the coronation, after the break-up. And suddenly, he felt a wave of the strangest warmth as he watched Katara, and then he knew. He knew she would understand. Her hands played with each other, her breathing still slow and steady. Zuko thought about the sapphires from under her closed lids, and he smiled softly.

She was beautiful.

"_Yes," _Zuko silently decided, changing his mind.

As if on cue, Katara opened her eyes and looked toward her friend, cocking an eyebrow. Zuko suddenly froze, his eyes widening.

"_Are you checking me out?"_ Katara giggled jokingly.

Zuko suddenly blushed a second time and quickly looked up towards the branches of the elder tree. "Absolutely _not_!" he shouted, sitting up and sounding sure of himself, although he could feel the blood rush in contrast to his pale cheeks. This always happened whenever Zuko flushed, and he hated this about himself.

Katara sat up as well, casually patting him on the back. "Relax, dummy," she reassured him. "I'm totally kidding!"

Zuko pouted and crossed his arms against his chest. "Well—well, _good_," he stuttered, and began to stand up.

"Where are you going?" Katara asked playfully, slapping her hand against Zuko's leg. "I was only _kidding,_" she repeated, and started to pout her lips, her eyes widening with fake-pity, aiming towards him.

Zuko caught himself staring at her wonderful sapphire orbs again, but before he lost himself a second time, he turned his head around, and started towards the palace proper. Katara pushed herself against the grass, brushed the leaves off her dress, and followed quickly, now quite concerned.

"Where are you _going_?" she shouted. "You didn't even touch your tea!"

"I'm—going to—I need to use the bathroom real quick," Zuko lied, embarrassed.

"No you don't! You just went before we got out here!" Katara replied loudly, rolling her eyes. "And it's almost sundown. We need to work on your wounds again today," she reminded him, and remembered the reason why she and the others have been staying in the Fire Nation: Zuko was still far from well. She ran towards him further, trying to catch up, but Zuko quickened his pace, still flushing. He looked back at her and tried his best to force away his smile, scrunching his lips together.

"I'm—" he stuttered loudly. "I'm thirsty, then!" he said in reply, lying.

Katara groaned again, waving her hands towards the forgotten teapot and the tray under the elder tree. "But there's tea _right here!_" she waved further.

Zuko pouted. "I—I want something _cold,"_ he lied again, shouting, and before Katara knew it, he disappeared into the palace.

She stood there alone as if she was waiting, but groaned for the umpteenth time in frustration, going back to their spot by the elder tree and began collecting the untouched tea-things. _"Want something cold,"_ she mumbled, doing her best Zuko impression while making a face. _"Bathroom, I need to go to the bathroom real quick," _she repeated, rolling her eyes. "Ugh."

She put down the tea set on the grass again, frustrated, crossed her elbows, and sighed loudly. But unbeknownst to her, a smile began to play around her lips, the tan of her cheeks turning into a protruding shade of scarlet, her heart beating like hammer against cloth.


	5. Cyan, Part II

"…Wanted something _cold_," Zuko repeated, mocking himself. "You're so _stupid_, Zuko!" He groaned as he walked across the silk-woven carpets of the palace, stomping his feet like a child, a number of its guards staring at him as he passed. Zuko eyed one of them badly, and the guard straightened his body further, feeling tense.

"Bathroom. Ugh. Wanted something _cold_," he repeated again and again, until he reached the dining chamber, took a seat in front of the massive, mahogany table that was now before him, and, after calming himself down a bit, decided that he did want some tea after all. Just then, one of the servants arrived to greet him.

"Is there anything I could help you with, my lord?" he asked, tension evident in his features.

"Some tea please." Zuko replied hesitantly. He let out a sigh. Growing up as royalty, he was used to having servants around for his every want and need. But spending years living as a banished prince, as a refugee, and as Firebending teacher for the Avatar, he admitted to himself that he had missed the days when he could get himself a cup of tea, or even a glass of water without everyone making such a fuss out of it. Thinking about this further, he realized at once that as Firelord, he could have almost anything he wanted from the palace that he lived in, and that included being denied of service, so he could make his _own_ tea.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he cleared his throat. "On second thought—" the servant took a step closer to him, his head nearing the Fire Lord's ear, ready to listen and to obey. "—I'll make it myself, thank you." He continued.

"I assure you there isn't any need for that, my lord—"

"I assure _you_…" Zuko said firmly, although he regretted it as the old servant began to arch and straighten his back again much like the guard earlier.

"…that there will be no need to assist me today. I'd like to make my own tea, if you please," he tried to say with an awkward smile. The old servant quickly acknowledged this and bowed before him before disappearing back into his previous quarters.

Letting out a deep breath yet again, Zuko started towards one of the kitchens—for there were many in the palace—in search for some tea leaves and some water to warm up. He remembered his Uncle and how he especially loved the kitchen near the guest rooms, where a variety of Iroh's favorite tea leaves were displayed both decoratively and for consuming, in little glass jars that were all labeled accordingly. Zuko set his pace towards these rooms, and peaked into one of them casually—the first one was empty, and he remembered that Aang, Sokka, and Toph had gone out to the flea market to look for some souvenirs to bring home to family, or to friends on their way back, wherever it was they were going.

_Maybe they'll spend some time at the South Pole first, _he thought to himself. But then what? Would the Avatar and his friends travel again?

_The South Pole, _he thought again, and his thoughts lingered to Katara once more. How she had been trying to heal him for weeks, but how, for some reason, he enjoyed her company. How much they cried and laughed together over the past few days, and he remembered how much he had laughed like this with his mother. But also, how his unstable health had been depriving Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Aang of going back home to see their friends, to see their families.

"_Your health is important, nephew," Zuko recalled his Uncle, reminding him, during the first week of his sessions with Katara. Zuko was frustrated that he had been keeping his friends too long- not that he hadn't wanted them around, but that he thought of himself as a spoiled prince (or now, Fire Lord,), keeping people around simply because he needed them around. But as Aang had said, they needed to spend time rebuilding the Fire Nation together. Much work needed to be done, and rebuilding the cities would require staying in the Fire Nation itself. Zuko knew that somehow, this was just partly an excuse that Aang had probably made up, so that he wouldn't feel as guilty. And at this, he recalled how he had thrown quite a fit as his Uncle tried to calm him down; he did not want anyone being deprived of having the freedom to go wherever they pleased, or seeing the people the loved, at his expense._

"_But how will you rule as Fire Lord if you cannot even rule your temper, Zuko?" Uncle Iroh chuckled, and Zuko groaned in reply, and sank deeper into his sheets, covering his head with a pillow. His muscles ached almost as much as his chest as he did so._

"_Zuko?" a soft voice emerged from the other side of the door, along with three very quick distinct knocks followed by a pause—and then another two knocks. It was Katara, and how Zuko managed to pay attention enough towards the pattern of her knocking, he could not fathom._

"Zuko?" a familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he closed the door of the guest room he had entered and turned to face Katara, who seemed to have popped out of nowhere. She was still holding the pot of tea they'd left at the pond by the elder tree, and she held it up an inch higher, now closer to her face, to show Zuko. On her other hand, she was holding a porcelain cup.

"Look, I know you don't feel like it, but this will help. Really, it will." She said, and gave a nice, smug smirk that Zuko found—there was no better word to describe it—adorable. If there was a day wherein he couldn't count the number of times he'd blushed, this would be it.

Grabbing the porcelain cup, he smiled back at her, still flushed. He gave her a soft "thank you", heated the tea with his hands, and began to sip.

It tasted horrible.

Zuko spat out the liquid in his mouth quickly, making a face. "What is this? This is just _hot leaf_ _juice_!" he complained.

Katara began rolling her eyes again. "That's what tea is, Zuko. It's _hot leaf juice_." She said, and began sticking out her tongue teasingly. She folded her arms as she did, and Zuko, in return, stuck his tongue out as well. He noticed that he'd never done this before, except maybe in his childhood, but shook off the thought.

"You don't like the tea?" Katara whined. "I _made _it!" she emphasized, now tossing her free arm in the air. Her other hand shook at her gestures, and the teapot she was holding rattled.

"Oh," Zuko replied, and, feeling embarrassed again, took another sip of the tea, after which he began to gulp it all down too quickly (he decided the taste would linger less that way).

"It's—it's delicious, Katara. Thank you." He playfully bowed, but with a bit unease, the webbed wound on his chest making him wince without notice.

"Your eyes are twitching," Katara complained, pointing to his face. "That tea can't possibly be _that_ bad,"

"No, it's—" Zuko began. "—it's the wound," he blurted out by accident, and as soon as he did, regretted it; he didn't want to burden Katara that way, but it was too late.

Katara instinctively put the palm of her free hand up to her lips, and mouthed a small "oh no", barely enough for Zuko to hear—this did not erase the worry of her face, not even a little, and Zuko, while unknowingly clutching the part of his torso where the wound was, tried to calm Katara down by putting a hand on his shoulder. The movement, however, only made him wince again, and Katara quickly put down the teapot on a nearby table that adorned the hallway, assisting Zuko.

"I'm fine," he said, but his hisses of pain suggested otherwise. The pain was slowly creeping in on him again, like the wound was still fresh.

"It's after sundown," Katara pointed out, and couldn't hide the seriousness of her voice. She tried to straighten him up. "We should be having a healing session now. We're late. We're really late. Can you walk?"

Zuko nodded. "I'm fine," he said again, but Katara swiftly took the porcelain cup from his hand, placed it on the nearby table along with the pot, and lifted Zuko's arm, putting it around her shoulder.

They made it to Zuko's chambers in a few minutes, every step of the way a jolt of pain surrounding his body. As soon as they arrived, Katara gently lay him on his bed. His eyes were now shut tight, and little beads of sweat began forming around his temples. "I'm fine," he whispered, hissing, over and over again. "I'm fine…"

Katara ignored him and began undoing his tunic, lifting Zuko carefully as she replaced the bandages around his torso. Katara was met yet again with the familiar, scarred flesh of his chest, and as soon as her eyes trailed towards the webs that protruded from near Zuko's heart, flashbacks began to arise.

Cyan flames, for the umpteenth time. Cyan flames and a cyan light, and Zuko was sprawled on the ground, leaving Katara frozen on the spot. Manic laughter from Azula ringing in her ears, and anger, anger that burned inside Katara towards his sister; and that moment, that moment where she ran towards him, not knowing if he was okay or not, not knowing if he was still alive…

Katara closed her eyes and breathed heavily, in and out, before getting the basin from under the bed. She produced water from the small jug she always carried around with her, and within seconds, she was bending the water, producing the same cerulean glow as she wove the water around Zuko's chest. The wound was not ordinary—it was laced with hatred, with anger, and a fiery passion. This was what Iroh had told her as she healed Zuko in his bedroom that first night, as he lay unconscious before her: "It is Azula's anger, her passion for hatred, that makes my nephew's wound different from the rest," He shook his head slowly, continuing. "It is strange," Iroh said. "It is as if Azula had released her vengeance on Zuko in the form of this wound; I can only but say this with little conviction, but I pray to the spirits that I am wrong."

Pushing the thoughts away, Katara shook her head as well. "He's fine now," she told herself. Zuko was now completely unconscious; his mumbling had stopped. Katara did not notice it, but tears were already beginning to form at the corners of her eyes. Like little raindrops, they fell on Zuko's chest one by one, and apart from their soft breathing, the sound of the drops were only thing that echoed in the room. "He'll be alright," She told herself, again and again, unsure of her words. "He'll be fine."


	6. Cotton Blue

***READ PLEASE! IMPORTANT: I read the whole thing over again. The whole thing, this whole fic. And from Chapters 5 to 6, there seemed to be a missing piece, and my best friend Madie agrees. For a few days I've debated on whether or not I should put up this missing piece because it was written after the 6****th**** chapter was published already, but seeing as there are still only a few readers, I thought it wouldn't hurt if I uploaded this. I hope people who are already reading the fic don't mind, and for those who are reading it the first time, give yourselves a pat on the back for not going through the hassle of my editing skills (or lack thereof)/my indeciseveness.**

**No regrets. I love this chapter and I hope you do too. Enjoy.**

It was around midnight when Zuko came to, the firefly-crickets loud and chirping away, almost deafening. Looking around, he could see the tapestry hung on the wall of his chamber, the high, golden chandelier on the ceiling, and, his eyes darting on the bed next to him, Katara completely asleep, soft snores escaping from her lips. Her elbows were prompted neatly on the bed, her head lolling against her neck as she sat on the small stool beside Zuko's four-poster.

_What happened? _Zuko wondered, trying to push himself upward with his elbows. At this, another jolt of pain surged throughout his body, and he collapsed softly for the second time on the bed, droplets of sweat beginning to form. A sudden glance at Katara again, and piece by piece, his memories began to arise: _she and I were bickering over something stupid_—he recalled—_tea. We were bickering over tea near the guest rooms. And then—_

Katara began to blink her eyes open, jerking herself awake. She sat up straight within a matter of seconds, registering her surroundings before a wave of relief washed over her as she turned to Zuko.

"You're awake," she said, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a piece of dry cloth from the side-table. "I thought you'd never come to, sleepyhead." She joked, yawning, and Zuko smiled when she did.

"Well, here I am, I guess," Zuko replied, and Katara let out a short giggle, standing up from the stool and settling herself on the bed, the lines of the deep scarlet sheets dividing at the place where she sat. She looked at him sternly, and couldn't hide the concern in her features, eyebrows furrowing as she wiped him dry. "Does it still hurt?" she asked.

He couldn't lie. "It does," he said, exhaling through his nose. "I really thought I'd be better by now. It's been weeks since we first started these sessions."

"Just two," Katara smiled, now concentrating on wiping the sweat from Zuko's forehead, and then his bare chest. "Just be patient, Zuko." She said, blushing as her fingers trailed against his muscles, the only thing between their skin being the piece of dry cloth that was separating them.

Katara snapped out of her thoughts, and although she was still unsure of herself, gave him her word: "You'll get better soon. I promise."

Zuko gave her a smug grin. "I know," he said. "since I've got an all in one master watrbender and war hero helping me out."

Katara blushed again at his words, and Zuko caught her reddening cheeks as she turned to face the other direction.

"Oh, shut up," she teased, laughing. It sounded a bit forced, and Zuko couldn't help but blush as well. He closed his eyes, feeling contentment as Katara wiped the last of the water beads of his sweat away, and proceeded to massage the palms of his hands, adding pressure to the right parts, and playing with his fingers.

A comfortable silence filled the air, and the firefly-crickets could be herd once more, the sound of the friction of their glowing wings the only sound in the room.

"Zuko?" Katara said as he rubbed circles on the back of his hand.

"Mmm?" he replied. He was asleep once more, consciousness drifting from reality and dreams from one second to the next.

"I'm scared," Katara said softly, shifting from her position, now hugging her knees tightly as she spoke.

"Mmm," Zuko grumbled, although hearing her perfectly and clearly. "Scared of…" he began, struggling against sleep to form the words. "Scared of… what?" he finally finished.

"I don't know." Katara confessed. "Of uncertainty. Of everything. I thought after the war, things would be okay, but here we are. I'm scared of whether or not you'll get better. I'm scared of what to do after I get home, if things will be all right back at the South, if Sokka and I can even put everything back into order—and with Aang looking for more airbenders by himself, and Sokka being, you know, Sokka—" she continued. "I don't know. I feel like I'll have to face all of this alone—"

Tears began to fall on her cheeks, but she grew silent as the words escaped her.

"Sun and…" Zuko mumbled, his eyes still closed. "Sun and... be there… with you…"

"W-what?" Katara sobbed, sniffing.

Zuko shifted as he slept, and his hand unconsciously found its way towards Katara's, and again, their fingers were intertwined, grasping each other tightly.

"What did you say, Zuko?" Katara egged on softly, looking at their interlaced fingers.

"Look at… the sun," Zuko said softly, shifting again so that his head was now closer to Katara's lap, snuggling against her cotton blue dress.

"…the sun," he repeated. "Look at the sun… and I'll be there… with you…" he said finally, before drifting away into complete unconsciousness.

A last, single tear fell from Katara's eyes and onto her lap. Smiling, she took her other hand—the one that was not holding Zuko's—and began caressing his hair softly, playing with the strands. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep as well, her back against the headboard of the bed. As she slept, Zuko's words echoed in her dreams.

She knew then, she was sure, that everything was going to be alright.


	7. Dusk

**I'd like to apologize because my computer suddenly started acting up and I ended up deleting this chapter completely. I was just supposed to edit some minor grammatical errors but yeah. Ack. Sorry again. But yeah, it's back up now. Although I have some doubts about this chapter and its pacing, I've decided to leave it up here anyway. I hope I'm wrong, though. Anyway, enjoy.**

**PS Might not update until I get a good beta. Until then, happy reading!**

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><p>"That's it. Harder!" Uncle Iroh commanded, his stance stern and his body upright, hands behind his back. Zuko obeyed, his face determined, and bright, orange flames emanated from his fists.<p>

"Do not let your rage determine the intensity of your fire!" Iroh shouted from the side, shaking his head. "Let your passion drive it!" He instructed. "Harder!"

Zuko tried to do as he was told, and, with his feet planted firmly on the ground, put his arms carefully in position, striking as hard as his body would allow him. Flames shot out from his fists, bolting in a straight direction.

"Again!" Iroh yelled.

Aang and the others watched from the side in amusement. It had been a week since Zuko's last healing session with Katara, and Iroh suggested that he start practicing again before he loses his Firebender's Spirit for a second time. Katara refused to let Zuko perform any intense forms of his bending ("He can't even heat his own tea without collapsing like last time!"), but she and Iroh had come to a compromise and agreed to let his nephew do the more intense positions after his full recovery comes.

"Not _too_ hard!" A worried Katara shouted from the side, and Zuko couldn't help but smile at her, his Uncle's words echoing at the back of his head "_Let your passion drive it! Harder_!", the voice said. Feeling another wave of warmth wash over him, he was now more determined than ever.

"Oh yeah?" Zuko yelled, looking at Katara from the distance. "Watch this!"

He bent his knees into position, beads of sweat forming on his bare chest. He kicked as hard as he could, and a giant flame burst out of the arch of his left foot—he jumped, twisting his body elegantly around, did two more kicks in the air, and punched, forming a final flame. It formed beautiful fiery spirals that disappeared into the night sky; Aang, Toph, Sokka, and Iroh began giving Zuko a round of applause, each of them smiling.

Katara, though, remained seated, her mouth slightly agape, her cheeks turning into a bright shade of pink against her tan skin.

Somehow catching on, Zuko paused, feeling a slight hint of disappointment, and faced Katara who was a few feet away.

"That wasn't good enough for you?" He teased, beginning to walk towards the group.

She flinched and looked to the side: everyone was watching her carefully, as if her response would determine ultimately just how good Zuko's little performance was. But she knew better than to feed her friend's pride.

"It was okay," she shrugged, closing her eyes like Zuko's bending meant nothing at all to her, but out of nowhere, Toph began cackling.

"_Riiiight_," she said.

At this, Katara retrieved water from the container attached to her belt, and bending it, used it to whip Toph lightly.

"Ow, Sugarqueen! That hurt!"

"Hmph!" Katara said in reply, and crossed her arms yet again.

Zuko was trying to force his smile away, but he was flushing again, all the same. He took a seat next to Toph, grabbed a towel, and began wiping himself of sweat, burying his face in the cloth.

A few feet away, Katara was watching—his tall, lean stature and how his muscles arched beautifully, perfectly; his pale skin against the scarlet-red towel he was wiping himself with, and his dark locks as the soft wind blew them away.

Toph began laughing a second time.

"So you reaaaally didn't think it was impressive at all, Sugarqueen?" She repeated teasingly from where she sat.

Sighing, Katara's arms remained crossed against her chest and she let out a deep breath that was laced with the utmost annoyance. Why couldn't Toph just let this go?

"I told you," Katara said. "_It. Was. Okay_."

"Liar," Toph smiled under her breath, but Zuko could have sworn he heard her. He felt his heart, racing from all the energy he just expelled, and felt that it had just skipped a beat from what Toph said. He knew she could spot lying anywhere.

"What did you say?" he asked, genuinely curious. Could Katara really have been lying? Did she really enjoy his little performance? Or did she think it was so bad that she couldn't bother telling him the truth, afraid of offending him?

"Nothing," Toph replied, still giggling, and walked away. "I'm going to the bathroom. See you all at dinner!" She disappeared into one of the doors that closed with a loud bang.

Soon enough, one of the servants came with a fresh set of clothes and bandages for Zuko, as well as an announcement that the food was ready and on the table (roast duck and all-vegetarian cabbage rolls for Aang, the servant said). Aang, Sokka, as well as Iroh began rushing towards the dining room immediately, squirming and chanting about how excited they were for the meal. Zuko, on the other hand, was having a hard time frustratingly putting on his bandages, which kept falling as soon as he tried to secure them. Again and again he would try, but they fell to the ground all the same.

"Here," Katara said, following him as soon as she saw. "Let me help."

She removed the poorly-placed bandages carefully, and laced them around Zuko's chest and down to his stomach, adjusting and loosening them a bit so he could better breathe, and pinned them on properly. She blushed, and embarrassed, checked to see if they were alone—a distant chatter was heard from far away, most likely the boys at the dinner table, which confirmed her speculations. They had been left by their friends for food yet again, and Katara rolled her eyes at the thought as she patted Zuko's sides softly. "All done," she said.

Zuko breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks," he said under his breath.

A comfortable silence was in the air as they sat on one of the benches together, firefly crickets chirping.

"So you really didn't like my bending?" Zuko said after a while, disappointment that he could not hide knowingly shown on his features.

Katara suddenly froze, biting her lip. She put her hands on her lap and gripped the cloth of her blue skirt tightly, and cleared her throat.

"No—" she began. "I mean yes! I mean—no wait, that came out wrong, I meant—"

Zuko couldn't help but chuckle a little, adjusting himself on the bench that faced the open grounds. "It's all right," he said, although he still seemed a little sad about it. "I'm not really all that better yet, like you said—"

"No, uhm," Katara quickly began playing with her fingers, looking down at her blue shoes that were the same shade as the dusky sky. "I—" she stuttered. "I- actually—it was nice," she smiled, still not looking at him.

"So you really _were_ lying when you said it was just 'okay'?"

"N-no—" Katara stuttered again. "Well, sort of. I mean, no. Not even." Her heart was racing against her chest, and she had no idea why. For the first time, she was glad her friends weren't around— if they were, they would tease the lights out of her blushing.

"I don't get it. So you _weren't_ lying? You really did think it was just okay?" Zuko asked.

Finally turning to face him, she looked him in the eye, gold against sapphire, before looking away a second time.

"I—uhm—" Katara struggled, trying to find the words. Zuko's eyes were laced with concern, seeing her fidgeting.

Another silence filled the atmosphere, but Katara stopped playing with the cloth of her skirt at once and looked at Zuko, watching him as the wind blew against his face, his un-tied hair scattering against the air. "I loved it," Katara finally said softly. "I didn't say so earlier because… I don't know why, but I did love it." She said honestly. "I loved it, Zuko."

For a reason he couldn't fathom, Zuko's heart started racing at her words, and without any conscious effort, placed his hand on Katara's. She laced her fingers with his, and in that moment, she stopped fidgeting, stopped stuttering. She felt warm, and she felt comfortable.

"I was really scared again today," Katara began, looking at the stars that were now beginning to appear in the night sky. "I was scared you would hurt yourself while practicing—I'm really glad you're okay." She let out a breath. "You did really well. I really loved it," she said again, and he knew she was telling the truth.

"Could I—could I probably tell you something?" Zuko said, looking down on his feet.

Katara cocked an eyebrow. "You know you can tell me anything," she said, assuring him with a smile. "I thought we've established that by now."

He let out a sigh. "I—" he began, and much like Katara, had trouble finding the right words.

"I feel really selfish, keeping all of you here," he confessed after a moment of silence. "But you, especially. I feel really selfish keeping _you_ here."

Her eyebrows furrowed, trying to look at Zuko. But he was still busy looking at his feet, and so Katara grasped his hand a little more tightly.

"You shouldn't be," she said.

"Why? I'm the one here who needs you. I feel like—" Zuko let out a deep breath. "—I feel like I'm not just keeping you here because I need to recover, but I feel like I want you around because… I don't know. I just _want_ to. I just _want_ to have you around, Katara. I _want _to have you here with me. And that's just _selfish_. I feel like I shouldn't keep you around anymore—your people are waiting for you in the South Pole. Your father, your grandmother, Pakku, everyone…"

She looked into his golden eyes with her sapphire ones, and, letting out a breath as well, began to confess, too.

"I'm only staying here because I like having you around, as well," Katara said. "I feel horrible, and I feel selfish. Probably more than you do."

Zuko remained silent, letting Katara continue. She let out a deep sigh.

"The other day, Aang asked me again." She said, a look of worry evident in her eyes. "He always asks, and I always tell him 'no', you know? I always tell him no," she said, her lip pouting. "I've been telling him 'no' since the war, because I thought I would adjust to him, that I can adjust to him,"

Her heart was racing.

"But after a while, I felt like that was really unfair for him, that I still have to adjust myself, my entire self, just so I can _be _with him. So I could love him," Little teardrops were beginning to fall from her eyes. "But I know I can't. I can't ever do that, because I'm not even sure if it _is _him, if he _is_ the one for me. And it's not even that. I know, and I'm _sure _it isn't him; it's not him, because-"

Without thinking, Zuko grabbed her shoulders, nearing her towards him; a small gasp formed under her breath, and before she knew it, she closed her eyes, his lips crashing against hers.

He felt like fire; like a warm, comforting flame engulfing her lips, and she sighed into him, pressing herself further, her arms surrounding his back. He deepened the kiss, touching her jaw, and she felt like water; the inside of her mouth a cool, calming pool, but powerful, like waves gushing inside of her, completely submerging him. Katara grasped his back tighter, never wanting to let go.

Carefully opening his eyes, Zuko released both of them from the kiss, gold against sapphire once more. The stars of the night and the moon illuminated them both, and she was glowing—but Zuko suddenly turned away.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have done that,"

Katara felt embarrassed, having responded to the kiss the way she did. Shame pulsed throughout her body, and all of a sudden, she wanted to hide her face, and just hide from him.

"I'm sorry, too," she said. "I just thought—for a second, you know—I thought you _felt_ the same and—"

At this Zuko's eyes widened, and he held her hand for a second time, grasping her fingers so tightly, to make sure that she _knew_.

Katara looked at their interlaced fingers and smiled; he smiled back, and she leaned towards him in her seat, tucking her head under the crook of his neck. Zuko began playing with her hair. "I wouldn't have done it if I didn't feel the same," he reassured her, and Katara closed her eyes, resting her head under his.

"You shouldn't worry too much," Zuko said, trying to comfort her further while he stroked her dark, chestnut locks. "I promise, Katara. About me, or about anything: everything will be fine. Everything's going to be okay. I promise."

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think? That would be lovely.<strong>

**Also, I'm kind of looking for a beta. One that's as die-hard for Zutara as I am. Leave me a PM or a comment below (so it's faster) if you're interested! :D**


	8. Red Today

**I know what I said about the beta, but I couldn't resist posting this up. Here's some Sokka for all of yous.**

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><p>Everything was <em>not<em> okay.

"So, uhm, Zuko…" Sokka started, bumping Zuko's shoulder lightly with his fist. Unresponsive, he looked down at his shoes, sighing. "Hi, Sokka." Zuko replied monotonously.

"I was wondering if you could give me any tips. You know, guy to guy tips?" Sokka winked, oblivious to Zuko's empty stares. "You know, I mean—tips for surprising Suki? For when I see her again?"

"I wouldn't know of any,"

Sokka began to scratch his head. "Don't you and Mai ever do anything, you know, special?" he shrugged, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Once. I'm sure you made her smile at least once. Come on."

Zuko slumped his shoulders forward, still not looking Sokka in the eye. "I don't recall," he said, and sealed his lips shut after.

In the three days that have gone by, Zuko and Katara did not utter much to each other, not since the kiss. And since his healing sessions were now over, Zuko didn't have as much as a single excuse to talk to Katara. How stupid could he have been to have thought he had a chance with her? Of course she still harbored hatred—Zuko thought to himself—he followed them all over the world, betrayed both Aang and her after they had spared his life, and hired an assassin to make sure that the Avatar was dead. Maybe it was all a cleverly designed plot—that's right. That should be it. _Make Zuko think you like him, and then boom—the end._

"_She wouldn't do that_," Zuko said to himself, sadly.

"Sorry? She wouldn't do what?" Sokka replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh. You're still… here," snapping out of his thoughts, Zuko realized that he had almost completely forgotten that he was out in the market with Sokka, fetching some last-minute food and supplies before their departure to the South Pole in two days.

"So she wouldn't do what? Smile? Mai wouldn't smile, even for you?"

"Oh… yeah. Yeah, I don't think she ever did," Zuko lied, trying to get Sokka out of his hair. He recalled seeing Mai smile a number of times, her grins and laughter only reserved for special occasions, and of course, for him. At least, they used to be.

"Is that why you're so out of it?" Sokka urged on. "You know, I never really got you all that figured out Zuko." He said, playing around with a spear he had just picked up that was on display. "Dating a girl who never smiles—and you—you're just so full of—of fire, you know? Fwoosh!"

Zuko put his palm against his forehead. They had now entered a small shop that sold various pieces of weaponry, and Zuko reminisced on how much Mai had enjoyed doing this; she favored the stalls that sold different kinds of shuriken, especially. Sokka, on the other hand, didn't seem to pay attention much to any of the detail and craftsmanship of the weapons, because whatever looked sharp and deadly to him, he began playing around with immediately.

"_Hey," Zuko said, trying to sound suave. "I was going to practice some firebending forms with Aang before it gets too dark. You wanna, you know, tag along?"_

_Katara blushed, but did not smile. She looked down at her dress—red today, instead of the usual blue—and without as much as even a look towards Zuko, turned quickly away. _

"_I have to, uhm, I have to rest today…" she said as she drew the scarlet curtains of her windows in._

"_Oh," Zuko replied. "Is everything okay?"_

"_Yeah," Katara nodded, her back still facing him. "Everything's fine," she said, and slipped her shoes off, lying down on the bed on her side, facing the window._

_Deciding not to egg her on further, Zuko proceeded to close the door slowly, but before closing it shut, greeted her with a soft goodnight._

_She didn't hear._

"I kissed her," Zuko said from under his breath, snapping back into reality but unaware of his words. "I thought it was okay, you know? She just—well, she kissed me back,"

"You guys never kissed before?" Sokka said, still imagining Mai and her bleak, jet-black hair as well as her gloomy presence, while putting the red, metallic shield he was holding back on its place on the wall.

"What? No, of course not—we never did, I mean, I don't know, Sokka." Zuko continued, rattled and almost flustered, but still unaware of his words, Katara's crystal blue eyes the only thing filling his mind. "When I look at her, I feel so alive. Do you understand? It's like, I feel so grounded. I've never been so comfortable with anyone this much before…" he trailed off, and remembered her again, how much both of them shared their innermost secrets in the night while she tried her best to mend the scar on his chest- and the kiss two days past, how deep it had been, how she responded like waves of water crashing against fire…

"Hmmmm," Sokka began sauntering towards Zuko, whose eyes were still busy observing the silk-linen hem of his robes, thoughts nowhere else but on blue. From outside the shop, people were staring at the newly-crowned Firelord, and the famous war-hero. Two armed guards were positioned at the weaponry's doors, and Sokka waved at some of the travelling folk, but returned to where Zuko stood.

"So," he began. "Let me get this straight. She makes you feel so alive, and comfortable, but she's never _ever_ smiled for you? Not even once?"

Zuko cocked an eyebrow at Sokka. "What? Of course she has. Katara always smiles for me," he trailed off, not realizing the gravity of his words.

"_KATARA!?" _

Sokka dropped the pieces of shuriken he was holding to the ground, his eyes widening.

"_YOU KISSED MY SISTER!?"_ Sokka yelled, flailing his arms in the air. Zuko's eyes were as wide as his friend's, and he froze on the spot, the scenario registering piece by piece.

"W-what?" Zuko stuttered, completely coming back to reality.

"What do you mean _'w-what'_?!" Sokka yelled. _"YOU. KISSED. MY. SISTER!?_" he repeated. "I THOUGHT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT MAI!" Passersby from outside the shop began to stop and stare. Zuko noticed, and awkwardly ducked to the ground so that the public wouldn't see.

"Mai—" Zuko said through a hushed voice. "I meant Mai, I meant Mai—" He began to chant, lying, but Sokka ignored him.

"So that's why Katara's been acting so weird and gloomy lately. _You kissed her_!"

At this, Zuko stood back up and pinched the bridge of his nose with two of his fingers. It made sense now. Of course Katara didn't want him. That's why she had been distancing herself from him for the past two days. And as Mai didn't want him, why would she?

"We're making a scene," Zuko said under his breath as he tried to shake the thoughts away. But Sokka was not listening.

_"We're making a scene!"_ he said again, this time loud enough for Sokka, who was now clumsily putting back the weapons he had chosen, paying the weaponry's clerk for his services. He turned his back towards Zuko, and began storming out of the shop.

"_Where do you think you're going?" _

"None of your business!" Sokka shouted back, stomping his feet against the ground. "Talk to me again when you're done cheating on your girlfriend WITH MY SISTER!" he shouted, his nostrils flaring, lip pouting in frustration. People who surrounded the shop began whispering at his words, Zuko wanting nothing more but to disappear.


	9. Ice

**I'd like to give a short shout-out to ClothoLachesisAndAtropos, who's given me my first, lovely reviews (the two others are from my friends. lol). I'm so glad you like the story and thank you so much for your readership! Would also want to give a shout out especially to _disquieted_ from Tumblr, who also happens to run the tumblr Zutara blog. Thank you for helping me promote! I've gotten a major, major viewership/readership boost since you've helped out. I owe you one!**

**As for the people who are offering to be beta for me, I'm still waiting for everyone's replies, as around 6 people have asked. Will let you all know what I think as soon as I get replies from everyone!**

**Anyway, this chapter contains a little of the present, and some younger General Iroh as well (for my friends like Bea who get feels from him. Hi Bea). Hope you all enjoy!**

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><p>"<em>He always asks, and I always tell him no, you know? I always tell him no…" <em>Katara's words about the Avatar were clear as they rang through her head once more_. "I always tell him no…"_

"Katara?" Aang spoke, and again, Katara was brought back to reality, remembering that her feet were still planted on the linoleum of the palace floors. She had been giving this particular situation much thought—Aang was very persistent in asking; she knew what he felt for her was true.

If only she had felt it with the same intensity as he did.

"Katara?" Aang asked again, this time holding her hand, small compared to hers. He was a child in her eyes, still the innocent, little boy that she found enveloped in ice all those years ago.

"I'm sorry, Aang," she replied. She was tired of saying "no"—each time she uttered this, she felt tiny daggers piercing through his heart, and wanted nothing more than to offer him the comfort that she could no longer give.

Katara breathed in, and as she exhaled, tried to compose herself. "I know this is, what, the third time you've asked, and…"

Aang scratched his head, eyebrows meeting. "You keep count?"

"I can't _not_ keep count, Aang," Katara replied gravely, now breathing through her nose. "Each time we have this talk, it puts so much pressure on me, so much weight on my shoulders!"

A stern look in his eyes, Aang let out a long sigh, letting go of Katara's hand.

"Why is this so hard for you? Remember at the Jasmine Dragon? When you—you _kissed_ me, Katara. You kissed me. We were already okay. It's not like we haven't tried this before—"

"That's the point, Aang." She said, her voice hushed. "We try. We try too much."

At her words, silence filled the atmosphere, and the only thing that could be heard for a while was the sound of their heavy breathing.

"I love you, Katara." Aang said softly, nearing himself towards her. He tucked a lock of her chestnut hair behind her ear, his eyes searching for a reply in her sapphire ones, whose warmth she had felt was replaced with nothing but ice. She looked away as he did and took a step back, her heart beating loudly against her chest_. Why did he have to do this all the time?_

"Why do you have to do this all the time?" she asked, speaking her mind, biting her bottom lip softly. "Why do you have to insist all the time—why can't you just _wait_?"

As she spoke, flashbacks began to form in her mind, all of Aang. How much he needed her, how much Katara had given her the comfort that she needed in the past. The first time he confided in her about how he felt, how he first told her he loved her, and how much she wanted to say "yes, I love you too", but also how she could not. The same question pulsed within her as she waited for an answer from the Avatar: why can't he just _wait?_

Aang looked to the floor sadly, surveying the details of the tiles with his eyes.

"I can't afford to, Katara."

And suddenly it hit her. The Avatar alone again, with no one at all. Fighting to keep his heritage alive, to keep his culture alive. At Zuko's full recovery, Aang would be on the search for other airbenders around the world, with Appa as his only companion. And what would he do if his search didn't yield anything? She was sure that he was going to come back empty handed. How could he possibly live on without her, without Katara?

"I love you," he repeated, trying to search her eyes again. "I love you and I'm not letting you go."

A single tear fell from the corner of her eye, and Katara's thoughts began to wander again, trying her best to imagine a life with Aang; it would be peaceful, she decided. It would be all-right. They could build a home together, they could build a family, and they could live happily wherever they pleased- at the South Pole with her father, with Sokka; or maybe even one of the air temples which they could rebuild together again. He would be happy. He would be happy, and she would try to be.

She shut her eyes tightly at the thought.

"It's going to be all right," she began chanting to herself, the words ringing again and again through her ears, behind her closed eyes. "It's going to be all right."

At this, she closed her eyes tighter, but instead of darkness, she saw only gold.

**The Present**

"There's no changing your mind, huh, grandpa?" the younger Iroh teased, helping his grandfather place the last of his belongings in a leather case for travel. Zuko's room had been emptied of most of its contents, from his tea-things to his clothes and his silk-linen boots.

Zuko shook his head, smiling at his grandson. "I'm sorry to have to leave you all alone here with your mother," he chuckled, and zipped the leather-case shut, patting it as soon as he was done. He sat down on the bed, and gestured for Iroh to do the same.

"I can tell-" Iroh began as he sat beside his grandfather, putting aside Zuko's blanket to one corner of the bed. "-that you really love this girl, don't you?"

Zuko chuckled a second time. "Girl? Ha! I wouldn't call her that anymore!" he joked, and Iroh laughed along with him.

After their merriment had died down, Zuko stood to draw the curtains of the window out, and he could see from the distance the sun rising. Dawn was almost over, and he would be departing for the South Pole soon.

Iroh watched the sun rise along with his grandfather, who put a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Iroh," Zuko said, "for your endless support."

"What about mom?" Iroh asked honestly, his features showing a hint of worry.

"I'm sure your mother will be fine," Zuko lied. "We've talked the night before. She wishes she could travel with me, but also wished me the best of luck on my journey."

"Did you really?" his grandson asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I did," Zuko lied again. "She even promised to send over some fire flakes when she can."

Iroh nodded. "I'm glad. I'll see you again soon, grandfather." He said, and gave Zuko a quick embrace, patting him on the back.

As soon as Iroh had left, Zuko pulled open one of the drawers in his bedroom and quickly took out the small, wooden case that contained the betrothal necklace. Opening it, he surveyed its details once more, hoping that his carving all those years ago was good enough—the waves that engulfed the small flame shined against the faint sunlight that seeped in through the window.

"Don't let me down," he whispered, pertaining to the necklace. He stroked the details of it one last time before placing it back in the wooden container, which he now gently set down with the rest of his belongings in the leather travel-case. Taking a step out of his chambers, he closed the doors without looking back.


	10. Transparency

**Hi there! Just to remind a few of the old readers that I updated this fic a little while back, and inserted an extra chapter in between chapters 5 and 7 that might have gone by unnoticed, which builds up to the kiss. I'm saying this now because I feel that that extra chapter I uploaded is crucial to this story, and I've seen in my traffic stats that it's the one that gets the least views out of all chapters. **

_**Tl;dr, if you haven't read the extra chapter I inserted (Chapter 6 UPDATED) READ IT READ IT READ IT BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT**_

**This next chapter is set back again in Past, Post-War. Enjoy.**

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><p>Sokka stormed inside the palace grounds, the rubber soles of his newly-bought boots thumping against the floor in frustration, both his eyebrows meeting almost nearly at the bridge of his nose, his mouth in a straight line.<p>

"What's going on with _you_?" Katara laughed as Sokka stomped passed her by the turtleduck pond, where she was teaching Toph and Aang how to make paper elephant-cranes (Toph had already made herself a dozen, while Aang was still stuck with one). Sokka came to a halt as his sister kept giggling, and put his hands on his hips, lips trembling out of frustration.

"What's going on with _me? What's going on with me!? _I should be asking _you_ the same question!" he yelled, his arms now flailing in the air.

Katara looked up from her folding to cock an eyebrow at her brother. "Trust me Sokka, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." She said, and Aang and Toph gave Sokka the same, blank stares.

"No idea? No _idea_?" Sokka shouted, putting his palm on his forehead.

As if on cue, a distant clatter was heard from afar, along with what sounded like a pot crashing against linoleum, and several mumbles of "I am terribly sorry, my lord!" as the thumping of silk-linen rubber boots against grass came closer and closer.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka began narrowing their eyes (with Toph much too fascinated with her elephant cranes to care about the commotion), and Zuko suddenly came into view, stopping a few feet away from Sokka, panting with his palms against his knees.

"Oh, well this is great," Sokka rolled his eyes and began nearing himself towards Zuko, punching him lightly on the shoulder after he'd composed himself. "This is spectacular!" Sokka said.

"Let me say something." Zuko panted, but Sokka only turned his back against him and the rest of the gang, folding his arms, his shoulders stiff. "Well that's good. Because I have nothing to say to you." He said.

Katara looked at both of them with worry, and started getting up from the grass, dusting off any leaves that might have clung on her skirt.

"What's- what's happening? I thought you just wanted Zuko to show you around the market?"

Sokka turned to his sister. "Oh, yeah. Yeah we did. We went into a small weaponry shop, too. Not that you know, I needed weapons or anything of the sort because I could've strangled him right then and there with my bare hands if I hadn't stormed off and—"

"Strangled him?" Aang stood as well, inching closer to Katara. "What happened?"

"_A_s_k. Those. Two." _Sokka narrowed his eyes and pointed both to Zuko and Katara, whose jaw was now agape and was trembling as she stood.

"Zuko? You _told_ him? How could you tell Sokka, of all people!"

His thumb and forefinger pinching the bridge of his nose, Zuko let out a long, exaggerated exhale.

"I didn't mean to—let me explain, Katara—"

"Explain what?" Aang asked, whose face now showed every bit of concern and confusion over what was happening. "I don't understand-"

"Oh, I'll tell you what happened." Sokka replied, his stance firm on the grass beneath his feet. "Apparently, you shouldn't leave those two alone so much, because the only thing those little healing sessions brought was—"

"We didn't even _kiss _during any of those healing sessions! She was just helping me with my bandages after you all went for dinner the other day, and I-" Zuko growled. At his words, Toph suddenly stopped folding her elephant-cranes to look at him, and so did everyone else.

"I mean—w-wait, that came out wrong, I—" he began stuttering, but it was too late.

There was no hiding the hurt in Aang's features; his lips quivered as he turned towards her. "Katara? Is that—is that true?" he asked, his eyes turning glassy.

"I'm sorry, Aang…" Katara trailed off, her eyes wandering towards the ground. "I know I have some explaining to do, but…"

But he couldn't let her finish. "I thought we were trying to work this out, Katara! Why would you do this?"

"Trying to work _what_ out?" She fumed, her cheeks turning red. She let out a sigh before she continued.

"For so long, all I've been doing is considering your feelings, Aang. It's always been about you." Katara began, her fists balled on her sides. "The only thing that's been going on here is me trying so badly not get you hurt. For every day that you're not okay, it's like I'm walking on eggshells, trying not to say the wrong words so I don't upset you any further. And at what expense? Sacrificing what I feel? What about _me_, Aang? Did you ever even stop to think about what I felt? About everything?" Tears were now flowing down her cheeks, but she exhaled a second time to continue.

"You're one of the best friends I've ever had, and I love you, Aang. But we can't keep doing this. I can't keep doing this for you anymore. And you—" Katara turned to face Sokka, who remained stern at her speech. "What I do and who I kiss is none of your business, and I'd appreciate it if you kept your nose out of my life, for once!"

With that, she stormed off into the palace proper, leaving the group stunned, remaining where they stood.

"Wow Sugar Queen," Toph whistled, but the others just stared at her and her pile of paper elephant cranes.

"Oh what, these? You guys are looking at these?" She said, and tossed a few of them in the air. "I thought I could give it a shot, you know. Who says blind people can't get artsy like Sokka?"

The atmosphere was filled with heavier tension as the silence lingered after, but Toph didn't seem to mind.

"Hey, look. I'm really sorry, but to be honest I'm just glad she's not mad at me too, you know?" she shrugged again.

Zuko sighed. "I better go talk to her."

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><p>After asking a few guards about Katara's whereabouts, Zuko proceeded towards the guest rooms and knocked on the mahogany of her door.<p>

"Katara? It's me," he said softly, but loud enough for her to hear. There was no answer, and so he knocked a second time, his breathing heavier each time she did not respond.

"Hello? Zuko here," he teased, knocking a third time.

"Go away, Zuko," a muffled voice was heard from behind the mahogany door. From the sound of it, Zuko assumed that Katara was either hiding underneath the sheets, or burying her face against one of the pillows.

"I just—I wanted to see if you were alright," he said, unsure of himself.

Sobs could be heard from the other side. "Well what do you think?" Katara's mumbling echoed from behind the door. "Just go with the rest of those stupid boys!"

But he was persistent. "I'm letting myself in," Zuko said firmly, and with a twist of the knob, he was in the entryway of the room.

As he had guessed, Katara was curled up on the queen-sized bed, her head under one of the feathery pillows, clutching the deep scarlet sheets as if for dear life. He walked towards her slowly, and as he reached her sat beside her on the bed.

"I'm mad at you, too," Katara whimpered, her voice barely recognizable from crying as she remained in her curled position on the bed. "I'm so mad at you for telling,"

"I know," Zuko said, inhaling before letting out a long breath. "But I want to let you know that it was an accident. I didn't mean to tell Sokka," He said. "I was—I was very stupid."

"Boys are stupid," Katara replied, still sobbing.

"I don't understand girls all that much, either," Zuko admitted, trying to lighten up the mood. But when he saw that she did not reply, he began to stand up.

"I'm sorry," he bowed before heading towards the door. "I should leave you some time alone."

"Wait," Katara sniffed. "Don't—don't go yet,"

He walked back towards her, sitting down on the bed again. He took off his shoes, resting his feet on the sheets as he sat cross-legged on the mattress, and reached out for Katara's hand, who was still curled up like a kitten, hidden underneath the scarlet blankets.

"Don't go yet," she repeated.

"I won't," Zuko said sternly. "I'll stay here as long as you need me to."

Katara began to sit up from her position slowly, and wiped the tears from her eyes with the palm of her free hand. The scarlet sheets twisted as she turned to face Zuko, leaving a small space between them where they sat, and for a moment, a silence lingered.

"I'm so mad," she whispered, looking at Zuko from underneath her lashes. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her lip was trembling from frustration.

"I know," Zuko replied, and continued playing with Katara's fingers as another silence began to linger in the room.

"I'm so mad that you told Sokka." She said, still looking at him.

"I know." He replied again.

"I'm so mad at Aang."

"I know."

"I'm so mad that he's never even thought about me throughout this whole thing,"

"I know."

"And Sokka. I'm so mad at Sokka for always butting into my business."

"I know."

Another silence fell, and Katara began sniffing yet again.

"I'm so mad at everything, Zuko. I'm so mad at everything and everyone right now." She whispered, and her eyes began to form water at its sides.

Zuko looked at her sadly. "I know." He said again.

At this, Katara burst into tears a second time, burying her face deep into Zuko's chest, soaking his tunic with her tears.

Zuko turned stiff, surprised, but after a moment loosened his stature, locking Katara in a tight embrace. He did not speak, only smoothing out locks of her hair as she cried against him.

"I'm so mad at all this pressure _he's_ putting on me with this whole 'I'm the last airbender, I have to keep my heritage alive' babbling," Katara began sobbing, her voice quick now, but bearly audible. Zuko fell silent, and only clutched her tighter.

"I'm so mad that _he's _acting like such a pompous, big-headed badgermole just because he's older than me," she sobbed again, but Zuko only held her tighter once more.

"I'm so mad that you told him, because I trusted you,"

He remained unspeaking, and she remained crying, and crying, soaking his clothes in her tears. For the night he just held her as she wept, never letting go.

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><p><strong>Just so everyone knows, I got the idea for "Hello? Zuko here!" from another fic I've read way long ago (I've forgotten which, I've read too many), I just thought I'd wanted to point that out as I want to be honest, although I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who's used that line in a Zutara fic before. Lol.<strong>


	11. Cerulean Again

**Was debating on whether or not I should publish this as an outtake/one-shot but decided against it. I might take it down depending on feedback, and republish it differently under outtakes. So I guess it all depends on you guys (also on whether or not I'll be lazy to even do it). I hope you like this chapter either way. Enjoy!**

***edit: fixed some minor grammatical errors**

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><p>It was cold.<p>

In her dreams it was cold, and Katara's knees froze, buckling. It was unlike any other, the snow thicker than what she was used to in the South, but also thicker than what she experienced in the North. She could feel her lips turning blue, her teeth chattering, and she tossed and turned as she slept, trying to find warmth.

Warmth.

And suddenly she felt that warmth jolt within her body, reaching her fingers all the way down to her toes as she curled into it, surrendering to it completely. Tight arms grasped her, and Katara felt a tender, toasty feeling covering every inch of her skin as she snuggled into the warmth further, burrowing her head into it. And that warmth, it smelled so familiar, like a fresh flame emanating from a fireplace in the winter, like freshly brewed tea leaves and a musky, lovely smoke…

She opened her eyes, but at the beginning was met with darkness. Crinkling her nose, Katara took notice of the feeling of cloth against her skin, and blinked a couple more times until it registered to her where she was, and who she was with.

Tilting her head upwards before looking out the window (the sun had not yet risen), she was met with pale skin, and dark, brown locks that fell to his eyes. Sitting up slowly, Katara watched Zuko closely as he slept, his hand limply resting on his chest, which was moving up and down, up and down, but steady against his breathing and soft snores. She softly brushed a piece of his hair aside, and, carefully, gave him a small peck on the forehead before snuggling up to his chest once again, forgetting all of her worries, all of her troubles; right now she felt absolute comfort, absolute contentment, and nothing else mattered in this moment. She felt safe in his arms, and again surrendered herself in his warmth completely before falling back asleep.

Daylight seeped through the curtains when Katara awoke again. Tilting her head up, Zuko was still asleep lying on his back, one hand limply placed on his chest, the other still around Katara. She giggled at his soft snoring, and tried to snake away from Zuko's arm as she sat up from her position, tucking him under the scarlet sheets. He moaned softly at this, shifting, and began to blink his eyes open.

Katara said nothing, only watching him as he awoke. She smiled a small smile, greeting him a silent good morning, and he smiled back, their eyes locking for a moment, but not before Zuko had realized where he was. His face fell in a sort of shock, and Katara followed suit as well after a few moments, quickly realizing the gravity of the situation.

"Katara?" Zuko said as he sat up, combing his fingers through his hair, fast, trying to register his surroundings.

"I'm—I'm sorry," she replied, putting her fingers against her lips. "I didn't—we must have fallen asleep and—did Sokka or anyone else see you come into my room?"

"No," Zuko said, still looking dazed from sleep. "No," he said again. "But I'm sure they noticed that we didn't show up for dinner…"

Katara's eyes scanned the floor as she looked for an excuse. "You were out looking for… limited edition fire flakes?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Or how about you were nowhere to be found, so I went straight to my room?"

"Or maybe you could say you went to catch up with your Uncle," she said, snapping her fingers. "Didn't you say he went out to check on the Jasmine Dragon before Sokka and I leave tomorrow?"

"Oh I—" Zuko's face fell at her words. "I forgot that you were leaving tomorrow-"

Before Katara could react, a loud banging on the door surfaced, and both of them jumped at the sound.

"_SUGAR QUEEN_!" the voice from the other side called. It was Toph, and she proceeded to bang on the door after calling Katara. "_HAVE YOU SEEN ZUKO?" _She called.

"I—" Zuko began, but Katara put her hand over his mouth before he could say anything further.

"NO!" Katara shouted, lying, her hand still covering Zuko's mouth, whose eyes were wide open, eyebrows creased together.

"_WELL, GET UP! IT'S TIME FOR BREAKFAST!"_ Toph yelled, banging the door a third time.

"_I'M NOT READY YET!" _Katara yelled back; Zuko was fighting the urge not to bite off her hand.

Without warning, Toph bent the metal of the doorknob, forcing it open. It swung with a loud "bang", and as soon as she took a step inside, used her feet to survey the room.

"It's not what it looks like!" Katara begged, her hand still on Zuko's mouth. Trying to let go of her grip, he quickly bit one of her fingers, and Katara responded with a loud "_Ow!"_

Katara began flailing her hand in the air. "You _bit_ me!?"

"I wasn't going to talk!" Zuko shouted.

Toph was observing the scenario before her, and after a moment, erupted in laughter. Zuko and Katara stopped bickering at once, watching Toph in her merriment.

"What's so funny?" Zuko asked, frustrated.

Wiping a tiny bead of water from her eye, Toph tried to catch her breath. "You two. Look at you two." She said. "You look like bickering lovebirds!"

Katara and Zuko looked at each other, both blushing, and Toph must have sensed the tension, because she cleared her throat. "E-hem, your little secret is safe with me." She announced, pointing to herself with her thumb.

"Nothing happened," Katara stressed, still waving her finger lightly in the air. "I swear. Zuko just went here to try and calm me down yesterday, and we just fell asleep and missed dinner and-"

"Don't worry about it," Toph said, and Katara suddenly remembered that she needn't explain, as Toph could guarantee if someone was telling the truth from a mile away. "I've got your backs covered. Already cooked up a story." She said.

"How?" they both asked, and Toph smiled. "Basically, I just told Sokka and Twinkle Toes that you didn't let Zuko calm you down after he went knocking on your door, and that he went to talk to me instead. After which he 'proceeded to his royal Fire Lord chambers' and fell asleep, which is why he missed dinner."

"…Or we could have just told them that, instead of the whole 'I followed Uncle to The Jasmine Dragon' cover-up," Zuko shrugged, and Katara put her palm against her forehead.

"Anyway, like I said, it's time for breakfast. You two better fix up before anyone notices," Toph warned. "Oh, and consider yourselves lucky that I covered for you." She said before heading towards the door, and slamming it shut.

Zuko and Katara stayed where they sat on the bed, looking at the door where Toph had stood, and then at each other.

"You_ bit _me," Katara repeated, narrowing her eyes at Zuko.

"I didn't know what else to do! You wouldn't let go," he replied, and let out a sigh. "Here," he said. "Let me see,"

Zuko took her hand and surveyed the finger that he had bitten—it was now glowing red, and as he put his hand above it, Katara winced.

"I've got this," she said, and smiled, taking the small jug of water on the side table and using her better hand to heal the sore one. A faint, cerulean glow emerged from the water on her fingertips, and Zuko stared at it in awe, remembering the many times she had tried to heal the wound on his chest. This would probably be the last that he would see that same cerulean light in a long time, he decided, and, after a moment, he felt his face fall.

"What is it?" Katara asked, her features showing concern at Zuko's. She bended the water back into its container and after putting it aside, moved closer to where he sat on the bed.

Zuko stammered as he searched for the words. "It's just- I—"

"What? It's okay Zuko, it's healed now, look-" Katara reassured, positioning her hand in level with her head so Zuko could see.

"No, it's not that I-"

"What, then?"

"I—I—just-"

"Spit it out, Zuko."

"No, I-"

"Zuko, I thought we've established that you can tell me anyth—"

He pressed her lips against hers, crashing like waves of water against fiery flames. Katara closed her eyes and let herself go, surrendering to his force, feeling completely at ease as she did so. She cupped his chin with her fingers, and as soon as they let go, his golden eyes met her sapphire ones again.

"It's just that… I'll miss you," Zuko confessed, resting his head on her shoulder. "I'll miss you, Katara."

Katara closed her eyes, and a single tear fell on to her lap as she caressed his back, her fingers tracing against his muscles. She closed her eyes and gave him a peck on the forehead, and they both leaned against the headboard as their fingers began to intertwine once more.

"I'll miss you too," she said, and smiled a sad smile. "I'll miss you a whole lot. Don't forget to write me all the time okay?"

"I'll send a hawk every week," Zuko winked, laughing.

For a while they just stayed in their position, but Katara's stomach began grumbling at the slightest bit of movement.

"Zuko?" Katara asked after a moment.

"Yeah?"

"I'm kind of really hungry now," she chuckled, and Zuko nodded, giving her a quick peck on the cheek, and a short "see you at breakfast," before he left the bedroom towards his own quarters to change his clothing.


	12. (Bright Red)

**I teared up a bit as I wrote this chapter's ending. I hope it gives you as much feels as it gave me!**

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><p>The escorts from the Water Tribe hauled Sokka and Katara's traveling gear up the metal steps that led to the ship, which was to bring them back home. At last the day had come for them to finally bid their goodbyes to the Fire Nation, and Sokka, despite their bickering over the past two days, gave Zuko a short hug and a pat on the back.<p>

"Take care," Sokka said sternly as he let go of the short hug, now bowing before Zuko, who had also bent low to do the same.

"Take care of her," Zuko said softly, almost barely enough for Sokka to hear. Recalling the events of the other day, Sokka remembered how much explaining Zuko had to make ("it won't happen again, I promise,") in order to convince him that he was neither cheating on Mai nor disrespecting Katara. Eventually, Sokka had given in ("Well, you did give us those awesome fire gummies as good-bye treats,") and the two had come to a truce, although Sokka was still a bit uneasy that his sister's lips had even come near the Fire Lord's.

The same, though, couldn't be said about Aang, who stood silent in the middle of the good-bye's and commotion. With Momo on his arm and Appa's leash on his right, he surveyed the scene, looking sadly at his friends. They had begun their adventures in the war together, and now they were going to be apart once again. From the distance where he stood, Aang could hear muffled exchanges of "I'll miss you's" and "I'll-write-all-the-time's" from Toph, Katara, Zuko, and Sokka, before he turned towards Appa who was staring at him blankly.

"Guess it's just us three, then," Aang sighed, facing Momo as well. Appa nodded and gave a distinct roar, and he jumped quickly, pushing himself against his bending to position himself on his bison's saddle.

"Aang!" Katara suddenly called out, running towards him. He looked at her in surprise.

"You weren't just gonna go without saying good-bye, were you?" she said, catching her breath.

Feeling guilty, Aang scratched the back of his head. "I was just- getting ready," he blushed, playing around with his fingers. "Of course I was going to say goodbye."

Katara gave him a warm smile. "Get back down here, then," she called, and he did as he was told, floating back down towards the ground.

"I hope we're okay," Katara said. "I know I was angry, but I don't want us to leave like this,"

"I know," Aang replied. "I'm sorry, too. I was selfish."

Katara put a hand on his small shoulder. "Maybe we could just put this behind us," she said. "Maybe something else is in store for us, both."

Aang smiled, but said nothing.

"You can visit us any time after your search," she reassured him, and he locked her in an embrace. The top of his head was level only with Katara's chin, but all the same, she hugged him as tight anyway. From where he stood, Zuko felt a small pang of jealousy, blushing at the side.

"I want you to have this," Aang said, and he fumbled inside his pockets for a while, producing a tiny pendant carved out of wood and adorned with pearls.

Zuko felt his breath hitch at this, and tried to look away.

"But this… this is Monk Gyatso's," Katara said, now holding the pendant, awestruck. "I can't possibly take this, Aang."

Aang smiled. "Sure you can." He said, and a few feet away, Zuko felt his lips pout at their exchange. "Please, take this, so you at least remember me while I'm still away."

"Aang, I can't." Katara looked at him sadly, placing the pendant back in his small hands. Zuko let out a sigh of relief, but looked around, hoping no one had noticed.

Aang looked at her with glassy eyes but smiled all the same, and put the pendant back into his pocket for safe-keeping. "I understand," was all he said before he turned away to face Toph and Sokka. "So I guess this is goodbye for now," he sighed.

"I'll miss you, Twinkle Toes, and you too, Sarcastic Meat Guy," Toph said as she tackled Aang and Sokka to the ground. Their laughter echoed as they began rumbling around, Momo joining in.

It was a moment before Katara and Zuko realized they were, in a sense, alone together. They looked at each other, blushing. He took her hand, lacing their fingers together, grasping it tightly.

Katara suddenly engulfed him in a hug, her arms around his neck. Tears began to fall to her cheeks, and Zuko felt himself sniff as well.

"Take care, okay?" he said, sadly smiling against her, rubbing her back softly.

"I'm a master waterbender _and_ a war hero," Katara giggled. "I don't need taking care of."

Zuko laughed. "I'm sure you don't," he said. "Thank you so much, Katara. For everything," he said as he tried to hold back his tears. He would not see her again for a long time, and upon realizing this, buried his face in her hair, drowning himself in her scent. She pressed herself harder against him as he tightened the embrace, memorizing how their bodies perfectly fit against each other's. Before he let go, he cautiously reached into the pockets of his tunic, grabbing a tiny, fragile object that was wrapped in parchment. Small as it was, he was able to slip it in her purse without her notice before they locked their eyes on each other for one last time.

"E—hem," Toph cleared her throat, and Zuko and Katara immediately let go of each other, hands on their sides. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but my ship's here now, too," she said, pointing towards the massive boat that bore the Beifong seal on its flag. Sokka started feigning tears and clutched Toph tighter, who tried to get rid of him like he was an elbow leech.

"Well," she shrugged after getting Sokka off her back. "I guess this really is goodbye, gang."

The group looked at each other one last time before enveloping themselves in a tight hug, and began chattering and mumbling their own farewells and goodbyes to each other as they circled around.

Toph was the first to leave, throwing her bags at her escorts as she bent the metal door of the ships quarters closed. They would not see her again, not for a long time.

Sokka was next to board their own ship, Katara following suit. She could not fight her tears as she bid her friends goodbye, waving at them eagerly. She took one last look at Zuko, and gave him a warm smile which he returned. She turned her back to face the horizon (waving them goodbye until they were out of sight, she decided, would be more painful), and when she turned around, they were gone, the only thing behind her the waves of water softly crashing against the ship.

"You okay?" Sokka said as he approached a teary-eyed Katara.

"Yeah," she replied. "I'll miss them, is all."

"To be honest I'm just glad you're away from the jerk-bender," Sokka teased, and Katara gave him a look.

"Relax, relax, I'm kidding!" he said, nudging her with his elbow. "So I guess… he's your boyfriend now or something? What terrible timing to start a relationship," Sokka commented, rolling his eyes.

But Katara only stared at him blankly. What were she and Zuko in the first place? They had never really cleared it out, not needing much words to affirm how strong the pull he had on her. All she had done, she realized, throughout her stay in the Fire Nation was to silently affirm what she felt, and left it at that.

Katara sighed. "I don't know, Sokka. We never really—"

But Sokka had already left, and could be seen a few feet away joking with one of the Water Tribe escorts, stuffing his face with fire gummies.

She smiled, looking towards the sun. She reached towards her purse, looking for a piece of cloth to dry her eyes of its last remaining tears, but as she did, she felt a foreign object with her hands from inside. Her brows creased as she reached in, feeling a papery texture against her fingers.

"Sokka!" She yelled. "Did you slip trash in my bag!?"

He ignored her as the escorts erupted in laughter as Sokka brought in his joke's punch line, and Katara narrowed her eyes at him, reaching further into her purse. "Stupid Sokka," she mumbled.

She finally took hold of the wrinkled paper from inside and noticed that it was heavier than an ordinary, crumpled piece of old parchment. Curious, she carefully opened it, and there, tucked neatly in between the creases, was a small, tiny golden chain, which was also wide enough to fit around one's wrist. An oddly shaped gem was placed in the middle of it, burning a bright red. Katara let out a small gasp.

Messily written characters were scrawled on the parchment:

"_Katara,_

_This was my mother's._

_Please don't forget me; I will think about you every day._

_-Zuko"_

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><p>Near the docks, Zuko was left with Appa, Momo, and Aang, who was staring at the ships that were slowly vanishing into the horizon; he clutched tightly in his hand Monk Gyatso's pendant, and looked at it sadly.<p>

"Zuko?" he said, his eyes not leaving the medallion.

Zuko turned around and stopped watching the ships as well. "Yes?" he replied. He knew where this was going.

"Do you love her?" was all Aang asked before he fell still and silent, patiently waiting for an answer.

"I don't know, Aang," Zuko said. He sighed, looking towards the sea. "All I know is, when I see her, my heart jumps, and it does fire-dances in crazy circles." He began. "I've never felt so at ease with anyone in my life. She's just—she's beautiful. She's beautiful and her eyes are just- and when I'm with her I—" he paused before looking again at Aang. "When I'm with her, I feel like I'm home."

Aang stayed still, his mouth a straight line. "Do you love her, Zuko?" he asked again.

Zuko looked at him straight in the eye before answering.

"Yes." He finally said after a moment of silence. "Yes, Aang. I do."

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><p><strong>AN: hi asgfhfgajhsajdlkads**


	13. Interlude, Part I: Azure

**OK SO to answer any questions you may have, NO, I AM NEVER EVER ABANDONING THIS STORY AND I WILL FINISH IT NO MATTER WHAT, and YES, for now Zutara is apart but I promise you that they WILL meet again soon, so don't fret!**

**Anyway here's wonderwall no lol jk here's the next chapter. It's very short since I've cut it in two parts (Interludes I & II), but I do hope you enjoy it anyway!**

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><p>"I see you cannot sleep, nephew," Uncle Iroh yawned, scratching his stomach. "Perhaps some ginseng tea will help you get some rest?"<p>

Zuko remained unmoving, his posture slouched on the grass next to the elder tree and the pond, where he sat cross-legged. He watched the turtle ducks calmly (most of them asleep), his thoughts drifting to nothing but blue. It had been two weeks since Katara and the others had left- she and Sokka at the South Pole getting everything in order, creating ties with the North; Toph back with her family in the Earth Kingdom, and the Avatar on the search for other benders of his own kind, travelling the world. Besides all the paperwork, new bills to be passed, and other scheduled Fire Lord duties, Zuko had nothing to do to amuse himself with.

"I'm fine, Uncle," he replied. "I'm just thinking."

Iroh took a step closer to his nephew and sat on the grass beside him.

"You are always thinking these days." Iroh said, trying his best to reach out to Zuko, who still would not look him in the eye. "Keeping too many thoughts in your head will not do you good. Would you care to tell me what is on your mind?"

Zuko sighed, thinking it through, but finally gave a stern reply: "I can't stop thinking about her."

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "This is about a _girl_? And here I was thinking you were sad because you lost at Pai Sho again today!"

But Zuko remained silent, still watching the sleeping turtle ducks.

"I'm sorry," his uncle said. "I was just trying to lighten you up a bit. Who are you thinking about?"

"No one," Zuko lied. Without thinking, he began playing with the water, dipping his fingers in the surface of the pond, swirling them around and watching as the ripples of the water grew wider each time his hand made contact with the surface.

At once, Iroh knew, watching Zuko carefully as he smiled.

"I see," he said, scooting nearer Zuko on the grass. He gave him a pat on the shoulder, but his eyes would still not meet his.

"I have a feeling," Uncle Iroh began, "That your paths will cross again. Maybe not any time soon, but eventually. I have a feeling."

Sighing, Zuko continued playing with the water, his eyes empty. "I don't want to keep befriending destiny anymore, Uncle," he said. "I need to find a way. I can't sit here and do nothing all the time."

"You're not doing _nothing_, Prince—_Fire Lord_ Zuko. Your country needs you here. And the South needs her." Iroh smiled, but Zuko still would not speak.

"It's funny, because many people misconceive the notion of destiny, much like you are doing now, my nephew." Iroh continued. "Countless times, I have told you: destiny is your friend. And as he is your friend, you do not take advantage of him; you do not wait for him to give you everything on a silver platter. You work together_. Hand in hand_."

For a while, the only sound was that of the chirping firefly crickets, and the hooting of a fox-owl. Zuko finally turned to his uncle after he could not bear the silence, carefully drying his hands on the hem of his robes.

"I'm tired, uncle."

"I know, nephew." Iroh replied, and began to wipe himself off of the dirt from the grass, standing up.

"Come," he said. "I will make you a pot of ginseng to help you sleep."

Zuko finally smiled, and nodded.

"Uncle?"

"Yes, Zuko?" Iroh said.

"Do you really think she and I- do you think we'll see each other again?"

"I don't see any reason why you should not," Iroh grinned. "For now, I think you could do very well with those letters she sends. Just do not tire the hawks too much, or they may end up disliking you like the turtle ducks."

Zuko chuckled. "Even the letters, they have her scent," he trailed off. "It drives me crazy."

"Love is a very funny thing," Iroh laughed. "Everything about her is suddenly of utmost importance, and your heart starts doing fire dances, in crazy circles."

And Zuko thought about that word again: love. It used to sound childish to him, imagining young couples heavily teasing each other one moment, and giving each other panda lilies the next; how he used to think it was complete rubbish, and how it only got in the way of getting things done.

But now he found it funny, as his uncle had said. Funny because things were different, and Zuko decided, after having tea with his uncle and getting ready for bed, that he would willingly give Katara all of the panda lilies in the world if he could.

He lied down on his bed, covering himself in his silk-linen sheets.

_I love Katara, _he thought to himself.

And his thoughts lingered to her again and her sapphire orbs, her eyes that were like pools of azure. How he rested his head against her chest for one last time shortly before her departure, after their last, real kiss—and her lips. He thought about her lips and how soft they felt against his, how he felt as if he were but a tiny, fragile flame engulfed by giant waves that crashed against him.

"I love Katara," he whispered, now sure of himself, before he fell asleep.

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><p><strong>Let me know what you think if you can! Hearts.<strong>


	14. Interlude, Part II: Scarlet

"I'M COMPLETELY CALM!" Katara yelled, Sokka dropping his bowl of sea prunes on the icy floor of the bedroom. He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" Sokka asked. "Because the last time I checked, you wear earmuffs on your _ears_, and not on your- face."

Katara quickly repositioned the muffs, moving them from the bridge of her nose (where they were currently facing) and adjusted them towards her ears. Ignoring the rest of Sokka's comment, she fumbled through her drawers. "But do these muffs go with my dress, or should I change them into a nicer color? Or, should I just _change_ my _dress_?" She asked, her words quickly spewing out of her mouth. "What about these rings? They go with my eyes, right?"

"Slow down, Katara," Sokka cried, scratching the back of his head. "I'm sure those Northern Water Tribe representatives wouldn't even pay enough attention to whatever dress you pick, much less the _rings_ you're wearing, you know?"

"But _I'm_ paying attention!" Katara bellowed. "_I'm _paying attention to what _I_ wear, and_ I_ care if I look like a deranged wolf-bat when I meet these people! They're practically _royalty_-"

"And we're _war heroes_. So what?" Sokka shrugged, eyeing his bowl of sea prunes that lay on the ground, now cleaning the mess up. "Besides, you should have thought about the whole I-don't-wanna-look-like-a-deranged-wolf-bat-thing before you decided not to get some sleep last night. Again."

Katara looked at herself in the mirror, noticing the heavy, deep-set circles under her eyes. She hadn't gotten a proper wink of sleep since she and Sokka first learned about political representatives from the North visiting them in the South; negotiations were to be done, and business was to be made about integrating the two tribes together as part of the Restoration Movement, one of Aang's ideas before he left to search for more airbenders.

"You're _impossible_." Katara huffed, her back now facing the mirror, trying to calm herself down. "And I can't possibly look that horrible today, can I?" Her fingers touched the circles under her eyes again.

"Your eyebags are as deep as that hole I fell into when Aang first started learning earth bending."

At this, Katara rolled her eyes at her brother, pushed him out the door, and closed it shut.

Sokka stood behind the entryway, holding his now-empty bowl of sea prunes. "Hey, what's the deal!?" he knocked, his voice muffled through the wooden door. "Let me back in! I'm trying to _help _you-"

"Ugh. Just wait there!" Katara shouted. "There's no way I'm going to be able to pick myself the perfect dress if all you're doing is making me feel like an ugly rag doll!"

Katara wiped the rest of the mess off of the floor, and proceeded to open her closet, looking for a better attire. After several trials, she finally settled on a nice cobalt one without sleeves, wearing elbow-length blue bandages around her arms, which webbed their way throughout her palms and fingers.

She eyed herself in the mirror, taking off the earmuffs and settling them on one of her tables, finally deciding against wearing them. She spun around to admire her clothing, but her eyes stopped at her dresser as she spotted something faintly shining against the light from the window.

"Katara!" Sokka suddenly shouted from behind the door. "Just _pick_ something already! Those people will be arriving any minute now, and dad's _waiting_ outside at the docks-"

But Katara stood still, eyeing the bright scarlet gem that lay on her dresser, slowly moving towards it.

"_Katara!_" Sokka knocked loudly.

"Just—" Katara stammered. "Just one second!"

Eyeing the gem that lay on the surface of the wood, Katara carefully picked it up by its golden chain, observing it carefully.

She smiled.

Loud knocks surfaced from the other side of the door again. "Katara!" Sokka yelled for the umpteenth time. "_Don't make me bust this room open, you know that I can—"_

"Oh, can you?" Katara teased, now gently opening the door, beaming at her brother.

"Hmph," Sokka crossed his arms against his chest. "I can. I really could have and you know it."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Right." She said, swiftly passing Sokka by, almost hitting his shoulder.

"Wait, hey—"

"What?" Katara asked, sounding alarmed. "Do I have some leftover sea prune on my face?"

Sokka cocked a curious eyebrow at his sister. "No, it's just—what is that—that red thing? On your wrist?"

The waterbender smiled at herself, and began holding her wrist against her other hand, tracing her fingers against the gem.

"Nothing." She beamed. "It's for luck."

Sokka shrugged. "I didn't know little gems from the Fire Nation flee market counted as good luck charms," he said. "How much did you get it for?"

"Not a lot," Katara replied. "But finding it, it was worth the trouble." She smiled to herself again.

Rolling his eyes, Sokka sighed. "Girls." He muttered. "Oh well."

As they reached their father outside at the docks, Sokka and Katara faced the sea, where ships from the North were starting to come into view.

Their father smiled, holding both his children firmly by the shoulder. "Are you both ready?" He said, looking out towards the water.

Katara looked up at the sun, feeling a wave of the strangest warmth wash over her as she squinted against the light.

"We're ready dad," she replied, smiling to the sea.

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><p><strong>AN: (They won't be apart for too long. You have my word.)**

**Apologies if this is a bit short again, but as I said, these two last interludes are part of the same whole, which yeah, can basically also be considered as one chapter. I've updated a bit late because I went through the comics and some of the Korra plots again so that I know I'm on the right track, which I hopefully am.**

**(BUT SPEAKING OF KORRA I watched the new LoK episode yesterday and can I just say that I have SO MUCH MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT KUVIRA BECAUSE #1 I HATE HER CUS SHE KEEPS TOSSING KORRA AROUND LIKE A RAG DOLL BUT ALSO #2 SHE'S SO HOT WITH HER HAIR DOWN OHMIGOD CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS SOMETIME GUYS)**

**As always, reviews are like candy. Hearts to all of yous!**


	15. (Letters)

"_Zuko,_

_ I couldn't sleep well last night, but when I finally got to shut my eyes, I dreamt about you again. It was strange. We were all out on the beach, Toph, Sokka, Suki— even Appa and Momo, but no Aang. I don't remember it as vividly as the rest of my dreams, but I remember that we were making sand sculptures, and the night was coming fast. Before the sun finally set, though, Aang showed up out of nowhere and dragged you with him someplace important, but I didn't know where. He came back without you, and I asked him where you were; he wouldn't tell me. I kept trying to look for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere. It sounds a bit petty, but it was just terrible. You know those dreams where they seem petty and childish, but you still feel terrible about them? I swear I almost cried when I woke up!_

_ I can't believe it's been months since we've last seen each other. I miss you, sleepyhead. Sokka and I haven't been getting along recently, and he pretty much doesn't listen to anything I have to say. Most of the time when I'm stressed out about things and I feel I have to let it out, he just wants me to shut up- so he just hands me a bowl of sea prunes from dad every time. _Every time. _They used to be my favorite but I think I've gotten sick of them. I miss the food from the Fire Nation. Nothing here is spicy, and everything tastes like seaweed. Sokka finished all the fire gummies you sent over._

_I wish we were together again, the six of us. It's so hard for me and Sokka and dad to have to carry everything on our shoulders; when I'm not busy with political dealings in the tribe, I'm busy worrying about whether I've said something stupid to the Northern representatives, or if I've started babbling too much about giving the Restoration Movement a headstart before Aang gets back. Speaking of which, Aang's written me letters as well, and he promised to come back in two months. I don't think his search yielded much of anything, so I advised him to come back as there's so much work to be done rebuilding the nations. I'm sure he's written you about that, too. You two have so much work to do together!_

_I miss you a lot. It gets lonely here sometimes, even with all the people. I feel terribly ungrateful. _

_Write me when you can._

_ Love, _

_Katara_

_P.S. Please say hi to your uncle for me! I don't even know why I try to make tea the same way he does. I can never get it right."_

Zuko smiled as he finished reading the letter, his fingers running through the edges of it, observing her neatly-written scrawl. He rummaged through the drawers of his study at once, looking for a nice piece of parchment and some ink.

"_Katara," _he began, pausing disapprovingly at his messy handwriting. He let out a sigh and continued.

"_Katara,_

_ Uncle once told me that sometimes, dreams don't mean anything. He used to reassure me with this when I was younger, whenever I'd wake up from nightmares. I'm sure it was nothing; I'm not going anywhere, and I'm always a Fire Nation hawk away if you need me._

_ I can't believe how long it's been, either. I miss you, too, and I think about you a lot. It gets lonely feeding the turtle ducks on my own, but Uncle joins me sometimes. I go to the pond when I can't sleep, and that's when he usually comes in to offer me some tea. It's been going on like this for so long now— an almost nightly routine- that I haven't been able to keep track. As for Sokka, I'm sure he's trying his best. Us boys can be pretty foolish a whole lot of the time when it comes to hearing people out. Trust me. I'm sorry about how you feel about the sea prunes, though. I know how much you used to love them._

_ Aang has been writing me letters, too. A lot of them, actually—we have much to do when he gets back. There are still Fire Nation colonies settled in the Earth Kingdom, and we don't know what we need to implement and what else we have to enforce to get everything in order again. I'm glad to hear about your negotiations with the North, though. Please don't worry about it too much. I'm sure they've found out by now how amazing you are at the job, otherwise they wouldn't keep coming back to settle things with you right? _

_ It gets lonely out here, too. I have to deal with almost everything by myself—the Fire Sages expect so much of me as Fire Lord, and I hope I'm not letting my country down. I'm glad that Uncle's here; I need a break once in a while. Don't feel so bad anymore. We're all going through a lot of stuff right now, but it'll all be worth it in the end. So please cheer up. I'll be really sad and upset if you don't!_

_ Until then, please know that you're always in my thoughts. _

_ Zuko_

_P.S. Please tell Sokka that I'll send over more fire gummies and fire flakes if he promises to take care of you better. "_

Zuko sighed to himself, contemplating on how he should sign his letter. Katara had written "love" too when she signed hers, had she not? Surely it would be alright?

He gave out a huff and decided against it, ("just to be safe", he said to himself). Finally rolling up the parchment neatly, he wrapped a deep red ribbon around it before he headed out of his study and towards the aviary, where they kept the hawks.

As he reached his destination, a familiar voice called from inside the shelter.

"Another week, another letter, nephew?" the voice said.

Zuko stepped inside the aviary, narrowing his eyes to see more clearly. "Oh," he replied. "It's you, Uncle."

"How are you feeling today, Fire Lord Zuko?"

"I'm a bit stressed out from all the negotiations with the Earth Kingdom colonies, but otherwise, I'm fine." Zuko replied. "What are you doing here?"

Iroh set his hawk free, a small piece of parchment attached to its leg. They watched it as it flew into the distance. "I am simply sending our friend, Miss Beifong, a short letter." He smiled. "She has started a small metal bending school in the Earth Kingdom!"

Zuko quirked a curious eyebrow, surprised. "How many people signed up?"

Iroh looked quickly to the side. "Err, a few teenagers, and a small child. I also wanted to check up on the Jasmine Dragon, as well. My good friend Cho is taking care of it now. Toph, well, she visits him from time to time, or so she says."

Zuko only smiled, carefully attaching his letter to the leg of the hawk.

Iroh put a hand on his shoulder. "How are you, Fire Lord Zuko?" he asked again.

"You just asked me that, Uncle." Zuko replied, rolling his eyes.

"How are you, really?"

Zuko sighed.

"I'm scared."

"Scared?" Iroh laughed. "My nephew, who has braved so many a storm in his young life, scared?"

"I want to do this right, Uncle." He replied sternly, his thoughts drifting to blue again. The hawk was still as it settled on his arm, prepared for flight.

At once, Iroh knew, and he gave Zuko a warm smile.

"Trust in love, nephew." Was all he said before slowly heading out the door and out of sight.

Zuko stood in the middle of the aviary, thinking. He reached inside his robes, looking for a quill, a brush, or anything to write with, but he could not.

"Just go back to the study and sign the letter the way _she_ did, Zuko." He muttered to himself. "It's one word. Just write it down."

But the hawk on his arm started to screech, itching for flight. His mind now clouded, making its decision, Zuko sighed a last time before quickly releasing the hawk into the morning sky. He watched it until it disappeared out of sight.

"Boys really are foolish," he muttered to himself as he left the aviary.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Incorporated some of the stuff in the comics here, so please know that mentions of the metalbending academy and restoration movement are NOT my ideas, and that Bryke owns everything!**


	16. Prussian

**Hi! It's been a while. But I'm back with an update that I hope you all enjoy. Before anything else though, here are some answered questions from the reviewers:**

** .129****: I have done calculations, and it seems that you're right. My miscalculation was adding Toph's original age in ATLA (12) to 87 (which is supposedly Zuko's age in LoK/this fic), when I should have added Zuko's original age in ATLA instead. I'll fix that in a bit! Also don't worry—your comment was not harsh at all. If anything, I'm glad someone pointed it out so it could be fixed. Thank you for your feedback!**

**As for ****airichan623****, yes, I am aware that Bryke has made an official announcement regarding Izumi's name, but I've kept it as Honora for two reasons being 1.) This fic was written before that official statement was announced, and, more importantly, 2.) As you've probably noted in the past chapters, Honora, in this fic at least, is Mai and Zuko's daughter, not Katara's. I think it would have been weird for Mai, knowing the origin of Izumi's name ("source of water"). I don't think she would've let that happen considering how the plot of this fic will go.**

**Anyway I hope ya'll enjoy this, since it's been a while for both Zuko and Katara…**

* * *

><p>(6 Months Later)<p>

Katara and Sokka boarded the wooden ship, finally set to sail towards the Fire Nation. Giving their grandmother a tight embrace before departing, they said their goodbyes to their tribesmen, and turned towards their father, who would be coming along with them.

"All set?" Hakoda prompted, a hand on both his children's shoulders.

"We're ready, dad." Sokka replied, taking a last look towards the entirety of the Southern Water Tribe before the ship set its course.

Katara spent much of her time, surprisingly, in the ship's quarters, pondering over all of the work to be done once they settle themselves back in the Fire Nation. The Restoration Movement was to finally be launched, and all of their plans and hard work will soon come to life. At the thought of the Movement, she pondered a bit over Aang, and how he had been doing; his letters had indicated that he had had arrived back from his search a month ago, heading straight towards the Fire Nation to settle negotiations with Zuko.

"Katara!" Sokka called, banging on her quarters' doors loudly. "Come out already! It's dinner time and dad wants you to try some of the seaweed jerky!"

Katara rolled her eyes at the mention of "seaweed". She was getting a bit sick of having the same taste and flavor in her mouth over and over again each night.

Her father was next to knock, the sound of his fist against the wood louder than Sokka's. Both father and son stood near the door, waiting for Katara's response.

"Sweetheart," Hakoda called. "You better get some food in that stomach of yours. We're arriving at the Fire Nation at dawn-

"I don't _want_ seaweed jerky, and give me a sec!" She shouted back, settling herself on the bed, ignoring her family.

"Whatever," Katara almost heard Sokka shrug. "More for me, then!"

But Hakoda was persistent. "Sweetheart—"

"I'm not hungry, dad!" Katara groaned, wanting nothing more but some privacy in her quarters. Finally, she heard her father's footsteps fade away as he left, and, looking at the ceiling, her heart began to beat loudly against her chest at the thought of Zuko, her mind resuming its original train of thought after Sokka and her father had interrupted.

"I wonder what he looks like now," she wondered, thinking about the length of time they had both spent away from each other. Zuko had sent over a newly commissioned painting of him and his uncle the past month, and remembering this, Katara rummaged through her chest, looking for it.

She surveyed the painting; his hair had grown longer since they last saw each other, a small portion of it in a topknot, and some falling near his jawline. He had sported a small goatee, and Katara smiled at this. Iroh, on the other hand, looked much the same, although his hair had grown longer as well, falling to his shoulders, also in a topknot akin to Zuko's.

First placing it close to her chest, she gave out a long sigh before finally placing the painting at her bedside table, and proceeded to stare at the ceiling, thoughts floating towards gold.

"It's been so long," she said to herself. "I can't believe it's been so long,"

She fell asleep shortly afterward, and she did not wake again until sunrise.

* * *

><p>"Wake up, sleepyhead." A raspy voice called. It sounded so warm and familiar that Katara proceeded to bury herself further inside her sheets, wanting to hear the voice in her dreams further.<p>

"I don't want to… wake up yet…" she groaned, replying to the sound of the familiar voice. "Don't wake me up yet—"

The voice chuckled. "Are you sure you don't want to?" it said.

"If I wake up…" Katara yawned softly, "If I wake up, you'll go… away… again…"

Zuko crouched down, his face leveled with hers on the bunk bed, giving Katara a small peck on the forehead.

"Mhmm," she replied, hugging her sheets tightly, smiling. "Please don't go away yet—"

Zuko laughed. "I'm not going anywhere anymore." He said, smoothing out her locks.

At the touch of her hair, Katara suddenly blinked her eyes open, her sapphire orbs facing his golden ones.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Zuko smiled.

_Bang._

"_Ow!"_

Katara had risen up so quickly, she and Zuko's foreheads collided with each other—he was now crouching on the floor in pain, and Katara remained seated upright on her bed, too surprised and shocked to notice the impact and pain on her own forehead.

"Oh my gosh! Zuko?" she exclaimed, her hands on her lips. "Zuko, I am so, so, sorry I-"

But he was laughing.

"It's nice to see you, too," he said, now sitting upright as well to face her, a hand on his forehead.

At this, Katara's smile disappeared, turning into awe. Before her stood the Fire Lord, completely dressed up, adorned with scarlet robes and silk-linen boots. His hair was tied up in a bun, and the golden crown sat at the top of the knot of his hair. He had grown a small goatee, much like in the painting he had sent, and his muscles, if she wasn't mistaken, seemed firmer and more slender than the last time she had seen him.

Zuko paused, looking at her, his face falling as well. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Zuko?" Katara muttered.

"Yeah?"

"Am I dreaming?" Katara asked.

Zuko pressed his lips softly against hers, swiftly, in a short kiss. He had missed the feel of her cool lips and how they seemed to fit perfectly with hers. He held her hand tightly, lacing their fingers together.

"Do you think you are?" He laughed. "I had to argue with the Fire Sages about seeing you here, by myself," Zuko emphasized. "The guards won't leave me alone and there was this business about it being 'inappropriate' for Fire Lords to enter their _guests'_ quarters, and how _we_ should welcome—"

But Katara quickly engulfed him in a tight embrace, taking in the scent of his hair, burying her face at the crook of his neck. For the first time in a long time, she felt her tears flow to her cheeks, biting her bottom lip to hide her whimpering.

Zuko pressed himself closer to her, and reciprocated, inhaling her in. She smelled of wild flowers, she smelled of the fresh breeze of the deep, Prussian sea. She smelled of nights filled with innermost secrets under the stars. She smelled like home.

"Don't wake me up," Katara said, not wanting to let go.

"I have to," Zuko chuckled. "Because you're here now with me. You're okay. Open your eyes again, Katara. Wake up already. I'm here." He smiled against her.


End file.
